Battle of the Gut

MRI Day

2012-02-13T22:45:00.003-07:00

Today was the big day. I arrived at the hospital nice and early for my MRI. Not surprising there weren't that many people in the hospital that early in the morning. Even though I was almost the only person in the hospital, I had to wait in line behind a guy with his maroon briefs hanging out at the check in counter. Early morning lines are just the Universe's way of letting you know that it's still in charge and it still hates you.

I've had a couple of dreams about being stuck in the tube of the MRI machine the last few nights, so needless to say I was a little apprehensive. My mother had an MRI once in which they put her in and forgot to turn on the fan. She was in there for about forty minutes sweating to death. Thoughts of being stuck in a hot, musty tube just sent shivers down my arthritic spine.

When it was my turn an MRI tech came to get me. Sadly, he had no personality, whatsoever. None. I tried to talk to him a little but the full extent of his social skills amounted to clearing a space on a table for me to put my glasses. Sigh. No science lesson.

I got up onto the slab and they proceeded to put me into the machine. As I entered the tube, the tightness of the space fully dawned on me. The first wave of panic washed over me and a voice in my head said: "you can't do this!" Santa Vaca, that was a tight space. I had originally thought the space would be about the size of a tanning bed. Waaaaaaay wrong. My shoulders touched both sides. I felt the urge to get out and get out now.

It didn't help that as they were putting me in I could see that some of the paint had been chipped off on the inside. Why would that bother me you ask? Well my thoughts went like this, the paint chip made me think of maintenance and that made me think of cleaning. Then as I lay there staring at the metal lid of my coffin only a few inches from my face, it dawned on me that the inside of this tube would be a pain to clean. That made me think that no one had probably cleaned the inside of this tube . . . ever. Gross, sick people in a hospital had laid in this tube breathing into the ceiling only a few inches from my face. Not a pleasant thought at all.

About this time I was into panic wave number two and looked up to see how close I was to the top of the tube. Fortunately, I was able to look up and see that the machine was open above my head which calmed me considerably.

I thought that at least I could reach up and pull myself out if I had too. That was comforting but I still had to talk myself down a little.

Anyway, the machine was loud even with the earplugs they gave me. I could feel when they where taking images because my hands and arms would heat up a little bit. Weird. I hadn't expected that. It also made my heart do a weird thing that I can't describe. It was like my blood was vibrating which was a bit unsettling.

After about fifteen minutes, I was relaxed enough that I started to fall asleep. I know near freak out at the beginning to almost asleep. Just when I was about to go out, they pulled me out.

I got up off the table and the room started to spin. I had to bend over. The tech just stood there. I was groggy from my almost nap and lightheaded from laying down for a while then standing up too fast.

The tech showed me back to the dressing room and left. I got lost on my way out and ended up wandering the halls of the Radiology department until I finally found someone who pointed me to the way out. It's still kind of amazing to me that they just let me wander for a while. I passed lots of employees but no one stopped me.

Makes me think that maybe I'll just go to the hospital and wander around one day to see how far I can go before someone stops me. Might be good exercise.

Deadlines are Affecting My Health

2012-02-09T05:18:00.002-07:00

One of the hardest conflicts we have in life is the constant struggle between work and the rest of our lives. We obviously need to work to support ourselves but I think work also allows us opportunities for personal growth that we could have in no other way. The real issue arises when work begins to dominate every other aspect of our lives.

I'm currently in a situation were I average about sixty hours a week at work with many weeks getting into the mid 70s. Even when I'm not physically present at work, I'm thinking about what I need to be getting done. Unfortunately, I have an extremely stressful job and most of my co-workers are on Xanax and seeing counselors due to the high pressure we are under. One co-worker told me yesterday that her counselor has threatened to come over to our office to "fix it" because he thinks its insane. Nice.

Anyway, we deal with constant deadlines with dire consequences if those deadlines are missed. By dire, I mean not just loss of job but loss of career, monetary penalties, and litigation. My boss earlier in his career had surgery to cut many of the nerves around his stomach to deal with his constant ulcers and has recommended the procedure to me.

Needless to say, working between 10 and 14 hours a day six days a week plus the thinking about the workload constantly has a tendency to destroy your peace of mind, social life, and sleep. It also makes it hard to workout. Without a social release or exercise the stress just builds.

I'm not really willing to go the medication/surgery route to deal with the stresses of the job. I personally think that if you have to be medicated or go under the knife to get your work done, its time to cut back on your workload or to find a new job.

Over the past couple of months, the stress is finally starting to catch up to me. Over the past five weeks my workload has greatly increased and so have my hours. I've developed constant nausea and loss of appetite which is normal with consistent sleep deprivation and stress. The weight loss is nice but really, I'd rather have lost the weight due to exercise. The other kicker is that the no light at the end of the tunnel situation tends to make people bitter, angry, and depressed. Each of which have visited me over the last five weeks. Needless to say, I don't want to be any of those things often.

So here I am, it's almost six a.m. and I've been up since 4:30 tossing and turning due to stress. I went to bed at midnight after working late. This is becoming a normal occurrence. The kicker is I have to drive five hours north tonight for a conference tomorrow, but I have three major deadlines today that have to be met before I go. I've got two of them almost ready to go and the third is in progress.

If this sounds insane to you, I agree. Because of my current reality, I took the day off on Monday and went to talk to my Boss's boss about this situation and my future with the company (again five hours north). Ironic that I had to take a day off to go talk to my work about my job. Anyway they are currently deciding whether they are willing to commit more resources to our office which would lessen my workload. I'm not too hopeful about that. If they are not willing to commit more resources, then I think my only choice is to leave the company.

What a bummer. I moved across my state to join this office about eight months ago and really don't look forward to opening my own office or having to find a new job in the small town I currently find myself, let alone in my profession, and in this economy. But hey, you have to have some work life balance and when you think you are developing an ulcer, for the second time in you career with this company, it's time to consider your exit strategy. I will miss the money and benefits though. Especially the health insurance. Dang.

Sad, I do love this company and the work we do can be fulfilling. Sigh. Okay, it's time to think about getting in the shower, avoiding breakfast(nausea again), and going to work.

MRI Next Week

2012-02-07T19:16:00.003-07:00

Today, I scheduled the MRI my doctor wants on my lower back for Monday morning at the local hospital. They told me it will take a good 45 minutes to mess with the molecules in my body and get the information they need. Sounds fun.

No really it sounds fun to me. I'm pretty excited. I get to find out what is up with my back and hips and I get to experience what many of my clients have to go through. I'm also a sucker for science. The MRI tech will probably have to sedate me because I will be asking so many questions.

That happened to me when I had my wisdom teeth removed in high school. I had so many questions for the surgeon that he just decided to put me under sooner. I woke up half way through surgery to the feeling of instruments in my mouth and my head and jaw being jerked violently. I think they let me come too just to mess with me for asking so many questions.

On second thought, maybe I won't ask too many questions before my MRI because I don't really want them to leave me in the tube all day.

On a more serious note, one hard thing about the process is my back doctor can't see me for over a week after the MRI. I will just have to wait for the results but let's be honest my back isn't magically going to get better by me knowing what's wrong with it so its not that big of a deal to wait.

Another hard thing is the money. The MRI will cost a little more than a $600 after insurance. Yikes. This is why it took me so long to get all this diagnostic treatment. I had to wait to get a good job with insurance and save enough to do it.

I'm not bitter or anything. Sad that it can't be cheaper, but the hospital should be able to make money just like any other business.

I hope this is the last test we need because so help me I don't want a discogram. The thought of a needle and dye being injected into my discs just isn't all that appealing . . . or cheap.

Anywho, I ramble. Wish me luck and have a great workout.

My X-ray Results

2012-02-02T14:53:00.003-07:00

About three weeks ago I had the pleasure of getting x-rays to see what is wrong with my back. I say pleasure because the staff was fun at the hospital but the twisting and what not threw my back out. Oh, the irony.

I had to wait two weeks to meet with my doctor and find out the results. Turns out I have mild scoliosis in my lumbar spine. Meaning that my lower back curves to the right a little. I think I already knew that but in and of itself that's not a big deal. What is a big deal is that my L3-4 and L5-S1 discs are seriously smaller than they should be. In fact they are about 30-50% gone. Yikes!

On top of all of that you could see from the x-rays that I have degenerative changes from my t-spine all the way down into my S spine. Nice. Degenerative changes simply means arthritis like issues. Wow!

But wait there's more!

Turns out I have degenerative changes in both hips as well. What?! That's right I have arthritis in my hips. That would explain the odd hip pain when I run and sometime after getting up in the morning. Weird!

The doctor just kept looking at the x-rays and shaking his head. He kept saying there is no why my back and hips should look like this at my age. He was dumbfounded. It always makes you feel better when you can shock your spine specialist.

Basically, the doctor said that my little encounter with my sister-in-law's 800lb piano ten years ago really messed me up. I officially have the lower back of a sixty year old and a deep hatred for pianos. I swear I knew that pianos were my arch enemy as a kid that's why I would never practice.

The situations not so bad when you think that the Running Guru just turned sixty and put in 30 miles of runs while we were in San Diego last week.

So what can be done? The doctor thinks that we can stabilize the whole situation and that my back will be just fine. He says I have all of the cartilage in my hips and that he thinks we can handle this. Unfortunately, he is still worried about those shrunken discs in my lower back and wants an MRI to figure out what's up. Scary part is that surgery is still not off the table.

I had a client come in yesterday and show me the hardware from her back fusion that her doctors removed after her accident. It was a bit sobering to watch her cry in our conference room about all the pain she has been through and look at the giant screws and rods that were in her back and then think that could be me. Part of working frequently with spinal injuries is that you get know all of the fun consequences of all of the conditions.

That night after meeting the client, I had a nightmare about being stuck in an MRI tube. Funny, I'm not even claustrophobic. Maybe, I just feel trapped by my back issues. Hmmm, deep psychological stuff there.

Anywho, I'm in the process of getting the MRI arranged but I may be leaving my job and losing my insurance so life is about to get fun again. Change happens you just have to roll with it. Or in my case just roll carefully. Ha, I kill me.

I told the doctor that all I want in life is to be able to perform squats and dead lifts again and he laughed. He said that I shouldn't have been doing either lifts in the first place and that they likely set me up for this whole mess. Dang . . . I loved squats and dead lifts.

All in all, it looks like I'm in for a future of physical therapy. Sweet.

After going through all of this, the doctor and I then sat an jawed about his experiences as an expert witness in several court cases for about a half hour. Shooting the breeze with the doctor made me feel far less worried about the entire situation than I otherwise would be. It is what it is after all.

So there you have it. Next up, I get to have the water molecules in my body realigned through magnets. I'll keep you posted.

Resistance Bands

2011-12-18T08:53:00.002-07:00

I love doing push-ups and pull-ups for strength training, but even so sometimes I don't feel that deep burn in my arms like I do when I workout with free weights. I've decided to supplement my push-ups and pull-ups with either resistance bands or dumbbells to get a better burn. Unfortunately, I live in a relatively small town so getting second hand dumbbells has been difficult and new dumbbells are pricey.

Recently, I stumbled across a resistance band set on steep discount at a discount sporting goods store. The price was about the same as a month of gym membership so I though I couldn't lose by giving it a try.

I have been using the bands for about a week now and what a difference it has already made. I'm still doing my push-ups and pull-ups and now I do auxiliary lifts with the resistance bands too. I've already noticed strength gains and more stability in my push-ups. I feel more "solid" and can do some of the shoulder stabilizing lifts that I used to do at the gym at home.

The bands I purchased are the Progym Extreme bands from Go Fit. Here's my quick review.

Pros:
* Easy to change bands - each band has a metal ring at both ends you snap into a carabiner on the handle. The carabiner system makes it easy to add a little resistance or take a little off quickly.

* Lots of resistance options - I used to worry that resistance bands wouldn't give enough resistance to be useful or worse I was stuck with just one level of resistance that would be too little for some movements and too much for others. With this multi-band system I can tailor the resistance for each lift. I love that.

* Two door loops - I didn't even know I wanted two of these until I bought the system. Door loops work by sliding the loop between the door and the door frame on the hinge side and then sliding a resistance band through the loop. The loop makes it possible to perform some lifts like flys or rows. But since most doors have three hinges you can't move the loops up and down the door quickly to change the angle of a particular lift. With two loops you don't have to worry about messing with your loops at all. Put the loop in the door frame with a little tape, set the other loop with a little tape and close the door. Bam, two attachment points! Awesome!

* Travel - I took a business trip to another city this week and took the system with me. I just threw the bands in the bag that came with the set and then in my suitcase they went.

Cons:
* Loss of Resistance over Time - I'm a little concerned that overtime the bands will stretch and lose their resistance.

* Wear and Braking - a band could overstretch, snap, and potentially take my eye out.

There you have it. No pictures so means that likely no one will read this post, so I'll try to get some pics up this next week.

Set My Back Appointment

2011-12-07T07:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I was able to set an appointment with a doctor to evaluate my back. The appointment won't be until January of next year but I'm just excited to finally have one.

I've Let My Membership Expire

2011-12-03T10:42:00.002-07:00

My gym membership expired this past month and I intentionally didn't renew it. I paid for the membership for two years and only used it inconsistently. I bought the membership mainly for the winters but now that I've moved much farther south, the winters aren't really an issue.

I pretty much stopped going to the gym when I moved because I just don't like my gym here. I live in a small college town and so the people that work out at the gym are usually young college students who are there to see and be seen.

What a hot group of freshman this year! Woot!!!

What got frustrating was that I wasn't able to use the weights I needed without having to wait, not just your normal wait time but the "for the love of all things holy, just ask her out and get off the leg press machine" wait time. Many workouts I would have to write off entire lifts because of the see-and-be-seen crowd parking on machines or hording the weights that I needed. My old Gym never really had this problem, likely because it was about four time as big and everyone seemed to be there to workout.

In the past I've done pretty well working out from home; either walking or running outdoors and strength training at home with push-ups, pull-ups, and weights. So back to the home workout it is. With the money I'm saving by not paying my membership, I'm going to buy resistance bands and some dumbbells to augment my push-ups and pull-ups.

I'm bringing back the short workout tie!

Yep this is pretty much what my home gym and morning workout will look like. Me in my tie and slacks getting my sweat on. Nice.

Getting On Top of My Back Pain

2011-12-03T09:43:00.002-07:00

It's been no secret that I have lower back problems. I don't exactly know what those problems are but I'm taking steps to find out. I work in an industry in which I deal with spinal injuries and their consequences all day long so I've got a pretty good guess at what is wrong based on my symptom set. I also now have a good idea which medical providers I trust and which I don't trust in giving me diagnosis and treatment advice.

With medical providers, as with any type of professional service, you need to be aware of what you're really buying. Your health professional can only give you advice based on his education, clinical experience, and exposure to other therapies. The field of Medicine is far too big for your chosen professional to know much about the other areas outside his chosen specialty.

What this means for us as consumers of health care is that we need to understand which area of medicine a providers advice is coming from and what his solution set is likely to be. It also means that it pays to get multiple opinions from different areas of medicine.

For example, if I you go to a surgeon he is going to want to cut you, a internist is going to want to medicate you, and chiropractor is going to want to crack you.

Bad professionals will just try something and see if it works when they don't have an answer for you. The good professionals that I've observed recognize the limits of their own skill set and will at least tell you their particular area has nothing to offer you if that's the case. The best providers will tell you where to look if they can't help you.

My professional experience has been that chiropractors have the most bad docs. A few chiros are amazing at diagnosis and treatment, most are not great, and far to many are really, really bad, even dangerously bad. Internists, on the other hand, are pretty consistent in quarterbacking your treatment and most are pretty good at it. An internist will likely give you medication for the pain and send you for diagnostic imaging. Then based on the radiologists report, the internist is usually going to send you to the "right" specialist who will take if from there.

In my own search for treatment prior to entering my current profession, I saw a chiropractor who took x-rays of my back and spine. He gave me a diagnosis that I still haven't seen in any of the medical records I've reviewed and wanted to see me 5 times a week for two months. I think he meant well but now that I reflect back on his diagnosis through the lens of the countless medical records and spine professional I've worked with, I'm fairly convinced he was up in the night.

I've decided that I'm going to go see a local spine clinic run by two brothers. One is an MD and the other is a DO. Best of both worlds in my opinion. They have a physical therapy practice and also provide pain management. They don't provide any of the more advanced pain management like injections. Having read their medical records and reports overtime all I can say is that they fall into the category of "best" professionals.

I'm going to set up and appointment this next week.

Happy Birthday

2011-07-04T18:49:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday!

Today's Workout and Eating

2010-12-20T07:05:00.003-07:00

Let's be honest. I've let myself go. Old habits and ways of living will always creep back into our lives if we are not vigilant. For me the stress of my job and life in general led to sleep deprivation and overeating.

Even so here I am again and I'm working on getting back into shape. I've decided to do a 12 week Body-for-life round starting in January to keep things interesting.

---------- Workout ----------

5 minutes warm up on treadmill
Seated Leg Press (Machine) 12x80 lbs, 10x90, 8x110, 6x130, 12x90
Leg ext. (Machine) 12x50 lbs
Hamstring curls (Machine) 12x20 lbs, 10x30, 8x40, 6x50, 12x30
No second set of twelve (don't want to make my back angry)
Calves: 12x95 lbs, 10x130, 10x150, 6x170, 12x110
Standing Calf Raises (Body weight) 12
Crunches (Bodyweight) 12, 10, 8, 6, 12, 12

---------- Eating ----------

Being that this is the week of Christmas, I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I'm going to be able to avoid all of the goodies in the break room. Starting to eat right should not happen around the holidays because you are just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, I'm just going to try to minimize the damage and then start the dietary magic next week.

Today's Workout and Eating - July 12, 2010

2010-07-12T07:45:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to go on a road trip with my brother. We traveled twelve hours back to where he just moved from to pick up a sectional couch he had left and to visit friends. The trip constitutes the first day off I've taken, since starting my new job ten months ago. Crazy. Moving the sectional wasn't all that good on my back and it is definitely not happy right now. Not extremely angry, more mildly annoyed.

Needless to say that although I brought all kinds of healthy options for the road we still ended up eating way off the plan. Anyway, I'm back to society and have to go to work today. Sigh. I've got to pay for this blog somehow, right?! Oh, wait. The blog is free. Dang.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Brisk walk 45 Minutes

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Banana and Applesauce Protein Shake, Zyrtec, Almonds, Water
Haven't planned the rest of the day but my goal tonight is to lay out the meal plan for the week and go shopping!

How to Fix Your Sleep Schedule in One Night

2010-07-07T07:40:00.003-06:00

Over the past several months between working my guts out and staying up late with my ex-girlfriend, my sleep schedule got way out of whack.

You know the story because most of us have been there: I was going to bed late and then struggling to get out of bed in the morning. On most days, I would wake up at the last possible moment rush to shower and eat (if I was lucky) and then head to work. I would get home and stay up well past the time I should have been asleep.

I was always tired all of the time and it really affected my ability to deal with stress in my life. Like most of us, I turned to food as my "get me through" drug of choice.

No work out time and extra calories led to massive weigh gain (40lbs is about 3 months).

After ending my relationship with my girlfriend, I was now in a position where I could more easily dictate the time I went to bed, but I still couldn't get out of bed at the time I wanted. My body just wouldn't get up earlier that the last second before I had to get ready and go to work.

I did some research on the Internet and found one method that seemed promising:

Decide what time you would like to get up and set your alarm accordingly
Fast for 12-16 hours before the time you would like to get up
When your alarm goes off, you are going to be hungry so immediately eat breakfast
Your internal clock is now reset

Apparently, people who travel for a living and end up in different time zones for a living have used this method for years with success. The science seems to be that you have two internal systems that run you sleep schedule one is based on light and the other is based on eating.

Most of the time our light system (Circadian rhythm) normally is in charge, but when you can override that system through the secondary system of eating. Hence fasting tells the body it should have been sleeping and breaking that fast with break-fast tells it should be up at that hour.

I thought I would give it a try. I stopped eating at 3:00 pm the day I read the article and the next morning got out bed and ate immediately at 6:00 am. I haven't had trouble getting up ever since!

I don't know if you have to continue doing this periodically to reinforce the system but so far I haven't had any trouble.

Anyway, getting enough sleep is as important to fitness as eating right or exercising. If you are tired you are going to eat and probably miss your workouts. Give the system a try, I just might help you reach the goals you have of getting out of bed and making your workout.

Today's Workout and Eating - July 7, 2010

2010-07-07T07:34:00.002-06:00

Good Morning Interwebs!

This morning I woke up tired. I got out of bed anyway and set out for my morning walk. I'm going to continue to walk until I'm below 190 lbs. because past experience tells me that running above 190 for me is 1) not very enjoyable and 2) killer on my back and knees. So brisk walking it is.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: 45 minute brisk walk
Stretching: 15 minutes focusing on my hamstrings

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Protein Shake (Chocolate Protein powder and Dry Non-fat Milk), Cantaloupe, Water, Zyrtec
The rest of the day is unplanned which is always dangerous

I need to get to the store so I don't have unplanned days, but the way work is right now I don't know when that is going to happen. Crazy.

Today's Workout and Eating - July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T07:42:00.003-06:00

I'm back . . . again. I'll put up a post explaining where I've been and why the blog hasn't been keep up to date sometime this week but for now let's just focus on the fact that I'm back and working on getting rid of the memories of the last several months that I've built up around my waist.

---------- Workout ----------

Brisk walk: 45 minutes
Stretching: 15 minutes

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Protein Shake, Cantaloupe, Handful of Almonds, Water, and Zyrtec
11:00 - Peanut butter and pretzels, a few grapes, and a V-8 from the break room
1 - a few almonds
2 - Water, Banana, one string cheese, some almonds
5:30 - cliff bar and some almonds
8:30 - Rice, Kidney beans cooked with onions and red peppers, Water

Have a great day and remember this is a journey not a destination.

Today's Workout and Eating - Jan. 22, 2010

2010-01-22T07:23:00.002-07:00

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are lift days for me. This week I've tried to hit all of my upper body on Monday and Friday. What I'm coming to realize however is that getting a workout in, is likely more important that exactly what that workout is. I'm not saying that you don't need goals or that you shouldn't have a routine plan. What I'm saying is that there are going to be times where just doing something is better than not getting out there at all.

For example, there are going to be times where the demands of work, family, community, and self are such that you just can't get your full normal workout in. In those days a 15 or 20 minute walk is better than nothing. Because a fifteen or twenty minute walk keeps you fitness focused and at least moves you down the path of fitness just a little.

---------- Workout ----------

Incline Bench: 3 sets of 10 at 200 lbs
Pull-ups: 3 sets (3, 3, 1)
Lateral arm raises: 3 sets of 10 at 15 lbs
Bicep curls: 3 sets of 10 at (15, 20, 25 lbs)
Triceps press: 3 sets of 10 at ?

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Banana Protein Shake, V8, Water, Zyrtec
11:30 - Turkey Pastrami and Provolone on Multigrain, Water, Baby Carrots
3:00 - Protein Shake
6:00 - Protein Pasta, Veggies, Water
9:00 - Protein Shake, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Jan. 21, 2010

2010-01-21T07:33:00.002-07:00

This morning was a cardio day so I got up, went to the gym, and jumped on the treadmill. I'm planning on making today a much better day on the eating front than yesterday. Last night, I swore off soda and caffeine again. Goodbye Dr. Pepper. I will miss you.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: 25 minute brisk walk with a couple of one minute runs thrown

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Oatmeal, V8, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec
11:30 - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Carrots
2:30 - Protein Shake, Water
6:00 - Pasta, Veggies, Water
9:00 - Protein Shake, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Jan. 20, 2010

2010-01-20T07:37:00.002-07:00

Today was supposed to be a leg workout day but for the first time in about two months my back is feeling pretty good so I decided not to risk it. Instead I spent the morning getting other things done. Looking back I should have gone to the gym anyway and done some walking. At that would have moved me closer to my goals without jeapordizing my back.

Live and learn right?

Today's Workout and Eating - Jan. 19, 2010

2010-01-19T19:32:00.002-07:00

This morning I went to the gym bright and early, okay it was rainy and dark, but still early. I got on the treadmill and began my workout. About ten minutes into my workout I noticed someone waiting at the side of my treadmill. I turned my head to see my girlfriend. How cool is that?

Anyway, my workout went well but eating was another story. I've eaten horribly. So bad in fact I'm not even going to put it down on this blog.

--------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Brisk 30 minute walk

Today's Workout and Eating - Jan 18, 2010

2010-01-18T18:23:00.003-07:00

Feels good to finally be able to write a workout and eating post again. It's been awhile.

Today, I got up and went to the gym in a snow storm. How's that for dedication? The workout was light by my past standards but I'm just happy to be getting back into it.

---------- Workout ----------

Incline Bench Press: 3 sets of 10 (180, 200, 200 lbs)
Pull-ups: 3 sets of max effort (5, 3, 2)
Shoulder lateral raises: 3 sets of 10 at 15 lbs
Overhead triceps press: 3 sets of 10 weigh unknown
Dumbbell Bicep Curls: 3 sets of 15 with slow negative

The incline bench and the overhead triceps lift were on weight machines the others with either body weight or dumbbells.

---------- Eating ----------

7:30 - Oatmeal, V8, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec knockoff
11:30 - Mulitgrain Low-fat Turkey Pastrami and Provolone and Water
2:00 - Cliff Bar
3:00 - Bag of Chips, Cookies, and a Milk
4:30 - Hot Spiced Apple Cider
6:00 - Left overs: Tortellini in Alfredo, Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese, and Pot Pie

Man today was ugly. Not to worried it will even out over time.

Getting Ready to Go

2010-01-16T16:22:00.002-07:00

Today I went to the local grocery store to get the supplies I need to get on the plan and take over the world again . . . um . . . I mean get back in shape. Yes, that's it.

I'm going for oatmeal in the morning with V8, a sandwich and carrots at lunch, protein shakes, and pasta for dinner. We'll see how it goes.

Tomorrow, I'll be taking a progress picture. Scary!

Did You Miss Me Because I've Missed You?

2010-01-16T11:19:00.003-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted and even longer since I worked the plan. But that doesn't matter all that much. What does matter is getting back on the plan and remembering its a journey. You just start from where you are and then go from there.

So where am I? I'm a busy professional working 55-65 hours a week (I should be working more). I don't get to bed on time hardly ever because, well, let's be honest, my girlfriend is pretty cute and I'd rather stay up and talk. I work in an environment where soda, pastries, and other not-very-on-the-plan things are plentiful.

Further, my schedule is erratic so planning my meal consumption around a set and consistent time table is not just difficult but impractical. Because I'm constantly tired from lack of sleep, lethargic from lack of exercise, and drowsy from being overfed on sugar, I'm having a hard time getting going.

So that where I am. I need to get to bed, have mobile and quick to consume food, and get to the gym.

Happy Day After!

2009-11-27T10:36:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the United States, a day in which we make a ridiculous amount of food, gather together, and give thanks for everything. My girlfriend and I decided to host her family this year. We went all out with every trimming and side dish imaginable. It was awesome. I'll be eating left overs for days!

Anyway, we decided to host at my apartment. So in a mad dash of cleaning yesterday I did something not so intelligent. I pickup a box with a nice half twist at the waist. Unfortunately, if you've read any of my previous posts you know that I can't do that. My back instantly started giving me trouble and today I'm blogging on my back. Yay!

I'll be stretching throughout the day and taking some drugs. It will be fine in a few days. In the meantime, I'm going to be do some laundry and getting some stuff done.

Hope you had a great holiday and have given thanks for all of the good thinks and even some of the bad in your life. Have a great day!

Workout and Eating - Nov. 23, 2009

2009-11-23T19:07:00.002-07:00

I noticed another thing that's sad about the gym today. People who feel like they have to look good or fashionable while they workout. *Sigh*

Anyway, it feels good to get back to working out.

---------- Workout ----------

Pull-ups: 3 sets (6, 3, 2)
Chin-ups: 3 sets (3, 2, 2)
Shoulder presses: 3 sets
Brisk walk: 20 minutes

--------- Eating ---------

7:30 - Bread and Peanut butter (not on the plan or the breakfast of champions)
8:30 - Reese's Peanut Butter cup (hmm I'm seeing a pattern here)
11 - Sandwich, Carrots, Fruit Snacks
2 - Two low fat string cheeses, an apple, lemonade
7:30 - Peanut butter on bread. (hmm not that great on the eating front today)

Gym Memberships and Getting Going Again

2009-11-22T12:15:00.002-07:00

Well folks, we all know how I feel about the whole gym membership thing. For those who don't know I'm generally apathetic if not minorly against a gym membership for the following reasons:

People who go to the gym tend to have confused, unfocused, or worse unhealthy fitness beliefs and goals (largely due to watching what other people with conflicting goals are doing in the gym)
I lose focus at the gym of my own goals as I see what other people are doing (Yeah, I'm one of those people
You can generally do all you need to do at home with a minimal amount of equipment
You could use the money you spend on your membership on good home equipment

Anyway, I've come to realize that I just can't get my workout in if I don't do it at the gym. When I come home from work its dark its just to hard for me to get the workout in. I'm sure you know the feeling.

So I joined a local gym this past week and I'm actually glad I did. I'm just going to keep working my program and remembering my goals. As long as I keep blogging I should be great.

Have a great day and remember its a journey not a destination so just start moving and don't worry about it too much.

Back to Full Health

2009-11-08T11:17:00.002-07:00

This week has been awesome. I've gotten up each day feeling great. I can finally eat without pain or discomfort and am ready to get back to working out. I need to adjust my workout schedule as now I am working between 9 and 12 hours a day so I don't think getting up at five am is going to work out for me. We'll see.

Keep up the good work and remember that the journey is supposed to be fun. As we take care of our health our capacity to do other things in our lives will increase, because our minds will be free and sharp and our energy level will be high.

Have a great week.

Health Update

2009-11-01T11:17:00.003-07:00

Let's be honest, getting used to a new schedule and the stresses of a new career isn't easy. Sifting through new obligations and new expectations on your time and sleep schedule can be down right rough.

I'm slowly getting used to the new obligations, expectations, and commitments. I'm still waking up sick at about 5:45 each morning but I'm able to eat much more than I have in a while. As soon as I gain another couple of pounds I'm going to join a gym so that I can go work out right after work. I fear that if I don't join a gym, I'm not going to get the workout in. If I were to just go home to workout, I wouldn't leave the house again, because the sheer amount of effort it would take to leave again would be almost superhuman. That's just the way it is.

Anyway, it's pretty amazing the difference a good night's rest makes. I'm starting to love Sunday's even more. It's pretty much the only day I can sleep in. Those few extra hours of sleep seem to make my week go so much better and improves my outlook on life.

Well that what's going on in my fitness life right now. Hope you are getting your workouts in and eating well. Let's just try to remember this is a journey with lots of potholes on the path the important part is to just keep moving.

Have a great day!

Stress, Sickness, and Weight Loss

2009-10-18T08:28:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone,

It's been quite a while since I've posted and that's because it's been quite a while since I've been able to work out.

In that last three weeks, I've started a new job, new relationships, and taken new responsibilities all of which mean stress and a hectic schedule. It feels like I went from 0 to 160 mph in the blink of an eye.

With all of the stress of my new life, I lost my appetite. After a week or two of weigh loss due to not eating like I should, I caught the flu. Fun. Don't worry though, I don't have a desire to oink, role in the mud, or look for truffles so it's definitely not the swine flu.

Unfortunately, while dealing with my mild, run-of-the-mill flu I took too much ibuprofen and messed up my stomach. I haven't been able to eat for most of the past week because my guts just hurt too bad. Feeling horrible while training at a new job is no picnic. But yesterday, I was finally able to eat four out of my normal five meals so things were starting to look up.

This morning, however, I woke up feeling really nauseous. That's a new symptom. *Sigh.* Oh well, I'll get over it soon.

Funny thing about all of this is that the last three weeks have been amazing. I've really enjoyed them. I'm on a new career path, working with a company I love, seeing someone I adore, and moving in a direction I that will help me reach more of my goals. Everyday, I've gotten on my knees and thanked God for the amazing turn in my life. It's been nothing short of miraculous.

All in all, I've lost about ten pounds over the past three weeks. Most of which is just water weight and the fact that my guts are completely empty. I'm not too worried but I have lost some muscle mass.

I think I just need to start working out again. Exercise is a great stress reliever and will naturally drive my appetite back up. The second thing I need to do is get back to a good sleeping schedule. I've been going to bed around midnight every night and getting up between 6:30 and 7:00 am.

If you are trying to adjust for stress and recover from the flu your sleep hours need to increase not decrease. I've been doing that one backwards. So easy fix. Sleep more.

It's interesting to me that sometimes we work so hard to achieve things in our lives and when we finally get close to our goal our mind will sabotage that success. I don't know whether at some level I don't think I deserve the success I'm having or I'm just having a natural reaction to the lifestyle change.

Either way, I'm determined to get over this bump in the road and get back on track. Life is about overcoming and this is just something new to overcome.

Hope y'all have been having some great success over the past few weeks. Let's just promise to remember that fitness is a process not a destination and part of that journey is overcoming the obstacles in our paths. Have a great week. I'll keep you posted. (horrible pun intended).

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 26, 2009

2009-09-26T12:15:00.002-06:00

It always blows my mind how well the human body adapts to tough workouts. I went on the exact same run this morning as I did on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the run about killed me. But this time it was near easy and I ran much farther and faster.

I just keep telling myself that the harder it is the better I am becoming.

In other news, I need to start paying more attention on my runs as I was "distracted running" and almost got hit by a car this morning. I was in the right but there is such a thing as being dead right.

---------- Workout -----------

Cardio: Last run of Week 7 C25k

---------- Eating -----------

11 am - Jamba Juice (Peach with Soy Protein)
3 - Protein Shake, Vitamins, Zyrtec, V8
6 - Homemade On the Plan Gyro
9 - Ice Cream or some such dessert

It a free day today.

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 24, 2009

2009-09-25T10:26:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, turned out to be an eventful day to say the least and that left me with butterflies in my stomach, sent my mind spinning, and messed up my sleep schedule. Needless to say it was hard to get motivated this morning to get out and exercise, but luckily I got to talk to the Cardio Master and that always helps gets me going.

Exercise solves just about everything and gets you refocused.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 x 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets 5, 4, 2 reps
Chin-ups: 3 sets 4, 3, 2 reps
Cardio: 30 minute walk

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water, V8
6 - On the plan Gyro
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 24, 2009

2009-09-24T10:30:00.002-06:00

My run today was absolutely brutal. Easily the hardest run yet. I don't know if was the fact that I didn't sleep well or if it was that I chose a route that was uphill 75 percent of the time. But I was struggling eight minutes into the run. I had to remind myself that its the hard days where we find out who we really are inside.

I know who I am and who I want to be so there was no way I was going to stop. I think its time to take a close look at my nutrition and sleep schedule.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 7 C25k (25 minute run)

---------- Eating ----------

10:30 - Protein Shake with Milk, Grapes, Water, Zyrtec, Vitamins
12:30 - Oatmeal with Milk
3 - Protein Shake, Apple
6 - On the Plan Gyro
9 - Cottage Cheese and Popcorn

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 23, 2009

2009-09-23T12:08:00.002-06:00

---------- Workout ---------

Push-ups: Single set to failure (21 reps)
Chin-ups: Single Set to failure (7 reps)
Cardio: 30 minute brisk walk

---------- Exercise ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake with Milk, Apple, and Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, V8, and Water
3 - Protein Shake, Grapes, Water
6 - On the plan Gyro, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese and Popcorn, Water

Looks, Weight, Body Image, and the Proper Care of Women

2009-09-23T10:41:00.006-06:00

In the past week, I've had three separate women in three separate circumstances tell me that I shouldn't lose any more weight. These comments got me thinking again about the age old weight, fitness, and looks debate.

In a previous post I outlined my opinion on what a health measurement of fitness is and the role of body image has in our fitness journey. I noted that the Mirror Test is one of the best ways to measure our fitness so long as we have set realistic and healthy benchmarks. When we look in the mirror we know deep down whether we are fit or not. So long as we don't suffer from a form of body dismorphia, such as anorexia, the Mirror Test is probably better than measuring our BMI.

But these women's comments got me thinking that there is another dimension to the body image debate, outside of plain fitness and health, that I didn't consider in my previous post.

Each of the women didn't want me to loose any more body fat because they feared I would look too "skinny" and not "big enough." It seems to me that the concepts of "too skinny" and "big enough" when used by women to describe men's physiques are not necessarily comments about healthiness or fitness.

More often what women mean by these terms is that they prefer a man with which they can feel secure, protected, and most importantly feminine and the rule-of-thumb they employ is body size. If a man is too thin, too short, or too weak, they fear they may dominate him and not feel as feminine as they would like.

This actually makes sense. There's a whole lot of social and even biological programming that supports those feelings. I even have a rather tall female friend who hates her height because she feels that she towers over men and therefore feels less feminine because of it.

The women who advised me not lose anymore weight, weren't making a comment on my fitness, goals, or health. Rather, they were projecting upon me their own feelings toward femininity, security, and protection. Good to know.

I'm pretty sure there are other ways to validate a woman and help her to feel feminine, secure, and protected outside of body size. However, it is good to note that my fitness journey may have unintended consequences on others perception of themselves and their situations that I need to be aware of and make adjustments for.

I don't think I need to change my fitness goals at all, but rather need to make sure that the women around me are taken care of through the gentlemanly arts of service. For example, I need to make sure I open doors, take out the trash, carry things, and otherwise do all the stuff my mother taught me.

Opinions may differ and I certainly don't have all of the answers, so if you agree or disagree with my analysis I would love to hear your opinion in the comments.

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 22, 2009

2009-09-22T10:26:00.002-06:00

The last few week of running my left knee has been giving me problems. I didn't think much of it but its been sore every day this past week. Then yesterday it dawned on me that my shoes are too big. Originally, I got these shoes from the Running Guru and they were too big for me so I'd wear and extra pair of sock when I wore them. This past week I'd forgotten the extra pair of socks. D'oh!

Today I wore the extra pair and surprise, surprise no knee pain. It's scary how much footwear can affect the entire body. The first thing my chiropractor had me do when I saw him was to tell me never to wear sandals again. They're horrible on the alignment of your body and can lead to knee, hip, and back problems. Who knew?

Anyway, today's run felt good, I almost ran out of gas at the end but I made it through. I'm only five minutes from my goal of being able to run 30 minutes without stopping! Go Couch to 5k!

---------- Workout -----------

Cardio: Week 7 C25k - (25 minute run)

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake with Milk, Water, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, V8, Water, Vitamins
3 - Protein Shake with Milk, Grapes
6 - ? (I have a business meeting at 5:30 so I'm thinking I'll grab something on the way)
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 21, 2009

2009-09-21T10:38:00.002-06:00

Last night I stayed up way, way to late. I didn't get to be until a little after three in the morning and today I'm dragging. Funny how that works. You don't sleep and the next day is hard. Hmm, there could be a pattern here. ; )

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 x 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets (4, 3, 2)
Chins: 3 x 3
Cardio: 30 minute walk

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, V8, Water, Zyrtec, Vitamins
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Grapes, and V8 juice
6 - Chicken Breast, Potato and Apple Hash, Water
9 - Popcorn, Water, Cottage Cheese, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 19, 2009

2009-09-19T17:39:00.002-06:00

I went to the park to run today and was greeted with a state wide cross country meet. There must have been five hundred to a thousand people there. Needless to say I didn't run in the park but ran through some side streets and neighborhoods.

Today was my longest run in years. I ran a full 25 minutes which turned out to be about two and a half to three miles. Not too bad.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 6 Day 3 of the C25k programs (25 minute run)

---------- Eating -----------

9 - Banana Protein Shake, V8, Vitamins, Zyrtec
12 - Chicken and Rice bowl with veggies
3 - Protein Shake, Water, Grapes
6 - Taco Salad
9 - Lemon Yogurt with Protein Powder, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 18, 2009

2009-09-18T08:42:00.001-06:00

Today I'm finally gettting back to my push-up and pull-up routine. I've missed the last four of these workouts but I'm happy to report I haven't lost too much so far.

----------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 x 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-up Pyramid: 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1
Chin-ups: 4, 3, 2
Cardio: 30 minute brisk walk

--------- Eating -----------

10 - Protein Shake, Grapes, V8, Vitamins, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal and Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water
6 - Grilled Chicken, Rice, Veggies
9 - Protein Yogurt, Water

Happy 200th Post to Me!!!

2009-09-17T09:18:00.004-06:00

Today is my 200th post on this blog. Yeah me! I should celebrate by eating a giant . . . er . . . okay maybe better to celebrate by taking a nap.

I think the universe knew that today was my 200th post so it decided to see if I was serious about this whole fitness thing. I forgot to dry my exercise cloths, I lost a contact on my run which made stepping over curbs unusually daring, and two separate dogs approached me aggressively while their owners looked at me apologetically. I'm now to the point where your apology means nothing to me if you aren't trying to get your dog away from me.

Single people listen up, if you got the dog to attract the opposite sex and you can't keep it from aggressively approaching people you are going to die alone. Harsh but true.

Happy 200th to me!

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Day 2 Week 6 C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein shake with Milk, Portion of Grapes, V8, Zyrtec, Vitamins
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, Water
3 - Protein shake without milk, Apple, Water
6 - Turkey Patty, Veggies, and Oven baked french fries
9 - Lemon Yogurt with Protein powder

Today's Workout and Eating - September 16, 2009

2009-09-16T11:20:00.002-06:00

Wednesday's have become lost days for me lately. I used to use my roommates weight set to do various shoulder lifts and some leg lifts, but that roommate has moved out and taken his weights with him. Buying weights is pretty low on my budget priority list so I need to come up with a different way to work my shoulders. Any suggestions?

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: brisk 30 minute walk

---------- Eating -----------

10 - Protein Shake, Grapes, V8, Water, Vitamins, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal and Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Apple
6 - Turkey Patty, Veggies, Oven baked fries
9 - Protein Shake

I've been struggling to stay on the plan this week because I brought my gumball machine down from my parents house and we have been filling it with Peanut and Peanut Butter M&M's. I just can resist that stuff. This is entirely my fault.

Today's Workout and Eating - September 15, 2009

2009-09-15T09:56:00.002-06:00

I didn't do so well this past week with the plan. I did get every one of my runs in and am progressing nicely in that respect but I didn't even remotely eat on the plan and I didn't do my push-ups or pull-ups. In fact, I'm pretty sure I gained a pound or two of fat. Oh, well. Water under the bridge right?

Today, I had another great run, but I'm getting pretty sick of people letting their dogs run up to me. You never quite know if the dog is coming over to sniff, bark, or bite. Good news is that after the first frost most of these people will disappear and so will their dogs.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 6 Day 1 C25k running program

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Protein Shake, Grapes, V8, Multivitamin, Zyrtec, Joint Complex
12 - Oatmeal with milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Apple, Water
6 - Turkey Pattie, Oven Baked Fries, Veggies, Water
9 - Popcorn, Protein Shake, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 10, 2009

2009-09-10T09:58:00.002-06:00

Today's run was amazing. It was far easier than I had thought it would be and I credit my new inspiration David Goggins for it. I told myself several times during the run that its in the moments of pain that we decide who we are and that I was going to finish this workout regardless of how I felt. I really believed what I had told myself and my mind just became relaxed.

The workout was still physically hard. I'm still sweating as I write this some fifteen minutes after my cool down walk and I can tell I'm going to be soar tomorrow. But even so it was one of the most relaxing runs I've had in a while. I can't even tell you what I thought about, I was just in the zone.

---------- Workout ---------

Cardio: Week 5 Day 2 C2k5 program (2 intervals of 8 minute runs and 5 minute walks)

---------- Eating ----------

10 - Protein Shake, Apple, V8, Water, Zyrtec, Joint Supplement, Multivitamin
1 - Lunch with a friend
3- Protein Shake and Veggies
6 - Left Overs
9 - Popcorn and Protein shake

David Goggins is My New Hero

2009-09-09T11:11:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I ran across an article about the ultra-marathon phenom David Goggins. Most of you probably already know about him but, being new to the running game, I just discovered his remarkable story.

Mr. Goggins is a Navy SEAL who lost several friends during a tour in Afghanistan. Wanting to do something for the children of his fallen comrades in arms, he decided to start running ultra-marathons to raise money for the charity Special Operations Warrior Foundation which pays for the education of children of Special Ops soldiers killed in action.

Running an ultra-marathon is a near superhuman feat even for experienced marathoners. But amazingly, Mr. Goggins went from a fit non-runner to ultra-marathoner in only two months. He notes in an interview that he lost over one hundred pounds during the process. Capitalizing on his SEAL background, Mr. Goggins also began competing in triathlons and ultra-triathlons.

He didn't just enter and finish these events, but has finished near the top of most of his races. His sheer determination and mental control is remarkable. He developed stress fractures in both feet and in his ankles as he got started but didn't even consider quiting or slowing down.

The man is amazing. You have to see his video interview over at Runners World. Here.

I like how he mentions in the article that pushing himself to the point of pain is the only way he can find out who David Goggins really is.

I am constantly amazed at what people can accomplish with a determined and strong psychology. It almost seems like Mr. Goggins uses those moments when he hits the wall as opportunities to define who he is as a person, to take those opportunities and overcome them as a means of stating to himself and the universe that he can do anything.

Inspiring to say the least.

Now David Goggins was already a Navy SEAL when he started this whole process, so that says a lot about his athletic and mental abilities. He didn't just go from coach potato to ultra-marathoner. Instead, he went from incredible athlete to border on super-human athlete, so most of us aren't in the same situation he was in to start. Even so, I think we can all take away a lesson from his psychology.

I'm going to start looking at those tough moments in my runs as I think he sees them, opportunities to prove to myself that I have what it takes to overcome pain and trials. I'm going to stop focusing on the pain and instead focus simply on finishing the workout.

I don't expect to develop Goggins like mental focus and control overnight but it does give me something to shoot for.

David Goggins also has a pretty cool website about his transformation and charitable purpose here. If you have the time, check out his about me page to see his before and after pictures and read his story.

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 8, 2009

2009-09-08T09:47:00.002-06:00

I think I ate more calories over Labor Day weekend than I've eaten in the past three weeks. I ate so much that I felt lazy and missed two body weight workouts.

Anyway, I'm back at it today and am putting the weekend behind me.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Day 1 Week 5 C25k Running Program

The run wasn't that bad but I'm dreading the 20 minute at the end of the week.

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Banana Protein Shake with Flax oil, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec, V8
12 - Oatmeal with Milk
3 - Protein Shake, Apple, Water
6 - Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for the Cardio Masters Birthday
9 - Protein Shake, Popcorn, Water

Don't know what I'm going to get at the Cheesecake Factory tonight. I'm going to have to do some menu research before I head over there.

Crazy Old Coot - Sept. 3, 2009

2009-09-03T10:00:00.002-06:00

So my post about the seagulls a couple of days ago has many of you mocking me. I'm looking at you Cardio Master and The Running Guru. I guess each year, I get closer to my goal of becoming that crazy old guy at the end of the street that yells at the kids to get off of his lawn. Don't fight it just embrace it.

Anyway, today's run was great and I was able to lengthen my stride a little which felt great.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: c25k Week 4 day 2

---------- Eating -----------

9 - Protein Shake, V8, Multivitamin, Water, Zyrtec, ECA stack (last day at full dose)
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Veggies, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Apple
6 - On the Plan Tacos (ground turkey, lettuce, tomato, salsa, fat free cheese in a tortilla), Water
9 - Popcorn, Cottage Cheese, Water (have I mentioned how much I HATE cottage cheese? Mild gag factor for me, yet I eat it almost every day. The things we do for our health.)

Seagulls and the Fattening of Society

2009-09-01T10:46:00.010-06:00

It occurred to me after writing the last post that I haven't seen a seagull near my house in over a year. I grew up in this area and there used to be seagulls everywhere. Especially in the park where it run.

You'd hear them all day long and they'd poop on everything. I have fond memories of chasing gulls in the park and of friends getting unexpectedly hit by a poop bomb from a malicious gull.

I racked my brain but couldn't come up with the last time I'd seen a gull. Not a single one in the park, at the grocery store, the mini-malls, or schools.

It kind of freaked me out. To have something that was so ubiquitous, just up and disappear without me noticing was unnerving to say the least.

Was there some seagull apocalypse going on or worse was this a sign of The Apocalypse. I'm pretty sure that one of the signs of the end of the world is that all of the annoying gulls will disappear after which we are doomed to die a horribly painful death. Okay, that's not really a sign of the times but I was wondering what happened to the gulls.

So, I did what any concerned citizen does when they have a completely random and somewhat pointless question, I bugged the government. I called the local agricultural university's extension office and asked them where the seagulls went. The receptionist forward me to the County Master Gardener, yep that's his official title, and I asked him my earth shattering question.

Where are all the seagulls and is this a sign of the End of Days?

He assured me the seagull population is healthy in my county and the experts even expect a population boom because there's an insect population explosion going on right now. He was familiar with the area I live in, and said that he'd noticed a lack of seagulls in that area as well. Nice to know I'm not as crazy as I think I am, an expert had noticed too.

His hypothesis is that we see less gulls because of better trashcan designs. Garbage cans used to be open or easy to open for the gulls and so they came. But now the lids are attached to the can and by design remain closed. Gulls can't get to the garbage and so don't come around anymore.

That makes sense I thought, but it really didn't seem to cut it as a full explaination. Then, as I thought about the trash can situation, it occurred to me that I used to see gulls in the park because all summer long there was a steady stream of families having picnics and playing in the park. The park also hosted little league football and baseball with accompanying snack bars. Where there are kids and food you can bet the food will be dropped, misplace, left alone, left behind, or otherwise made available for the gulls.

I haven't seen a family picnic in the park in years and I don't think they hold little league games in my area at all anymore. In fact, do families even picnic nowadays? I sure haven't. I can't think of the last time I made a sandwich, grabbed some grapes, chips, potato salad, soda, and some paper plates and went to the park.

I've taken my niece and nephew to the park but never brought a lunch with us. We just don't spend hours letting the little guys run amok in the park anymore.

It's a sad commentary on our society really. Sure our sanitation practices have advanced, but I don't think we litter any less than before. The real reason we don't see gulls is because we, as a society, have become either too busy or too lazy to take the kids to the park and picnic. Is it really any wonder that our kids are getting fat?

There you have it. The lack of seagull in park is, in fact, a sign of the times. Just not a sign of the end of times. It's high time for us to do our part and start picnicking again! Save the children! Save the Environment! Okay, just bring back the gulls. I miss them.

Do you remember this? ----------^

Because guess what, your kids don't have a clue what's going on in this picture.

No, really. They don't.

Today's Workout and Eating - Sept. 1, 2009

2009-09-01T10:11:00.002-06:00

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I just couldn't get away.
- Flock of Seagulls, I ran

Yes, yes I did just quote the Flock of Seagulls to start a fitness post. Okay, for the sake of the Cardio Master, who hates all things 80s, that will be the first and only reference to an eighties song on this blog. I'm surprised I could even remember it being that it came out around 1981 or 82 and I was three-ish at the time.

Anyway, the song about sums up how it felt to run today. Week four is a pretty big step up from week three on the c25k plan. You go from three minute runs to five minute runs. I was able to do it, but man it was hard. I'm still sweating from the run thirty minutes later. Sorry, you probably didn't need that mental image. I should probably start warning your before I do things like that.

Longer-than-you're-are-used-to runs really make you hate your body fat. You look down at this useless cold blob surrounding your belly button and you just want it to be gone. Stupid scrapbook of meals gone by, go away!

In more positive news, the run actually felt pretty good. My abs are tight again and none of my muscles felt soar or strained moving my weight during the run. I could stand tall during and lengthen my stride comfortably. All in all, I'm progressing nicely toward my goals of world dominat . . . I mean, fitness. Yes, toward my fitness goals. *Mwahahaha*

Ignore the man behind the curtain!

Okay, I really need to stop taking ECA stacks. Good grief.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: c25k Week 4 Day 1

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Roughly half a tablespoon of PB, Water
10 - Banana, Multivitamin, Water, Zyrtec, ECA
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, V8, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Apple, Water, ECA
6 - Chicken Breast, Pasta, Water, Veggies
9 - Cottage Cheese, and Popcorn, Water

I've been really slacking on veggies the last little while. Well, that's not exactly true. I've been eating cherry tomatoes like candy but I'm not getting the veggie variety I should.

Today's Workout and Eating - August 31, 2009

2009-08-31T10:25:00.002-06:00

For some reason lately, I've started to hate my Monday workout. I lay in bed after awaking, dreading to go down stairs and do my push-ups. It doesn't really matter because that's what this battle is all about, doing healthy things for your body even though your body doesn't want to do them.

Heck, if your body had its way, you'd spend the entire day in the hot tub eating BBQ baby back or short ribs and deep fried Twinkies while watching college football. What? That's not your body's dream? It sure is mine! Mmm . . . baby back ribs. *drools*

Anyway, I decided that after forcing myself through my push-ups, my pull-ups were going to be a mental battle royal. I simply didn't want to do them. I didn't want to have such a negative association with doing pull-ups so I decided I wouldn't do my regular three sets pull-ups, three sets chin routine. Instead, I'd switch things up and do a pull-ups pyramid and then chin negatives with an isometric hold.

A pull-up pyramid is where you do as many sets of pull-ups as you can adding a single rep to each set. Once, you've reach the maximum number of pull-ups you can do in a set, you start back down the pyramid doing one less rep per set as the set before. So that your sets and reps would look something like this: 1st set: 1 rep, 2nd set: 2 reps, 3 set: 3 reps, 4th set 2 reps, 5th and final set: 1 rep.

An isometric lift is one in which you don't actually move through a range of motion, instead you push against resistance but don't move anywhere for as long as you can. An example would be the classic wall sit. For a wall sit you put your back against a wall, slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then move your feet out until your legs make a niece square shape. You hold this chairless seated position for as long as you can. It's a brutal lift.

For an isometric chin-up you pick a spot in the lift to stop and hold yourself for as long as you can. Usually, the stopping points are an inch or two from the top of the lift, half way through the lift, or an inch or two from the bottom of the lift. I chose to hold myself an inch or two from the top of the lift and then lower myself through the rest of the motion slowly.

All in all, I got my pull-ups and chins done but the jury is still out on whether these lifts are better than just banging out the reps. Mentally, it was a little tougher.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 sets of 10 (I'm all the way back to full strength!)
Triceps push-ups: 3 sets of 10
Pull-ups: Pyramid 7 sets with reps as follows 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1
Chins: Isometric hold near top for 10-15 seconds and then slow negative to complete the rep. 3 reps total and I was physically and mentally done.
Forearm hang: I did forearm hangs on the bar after each pull-up set for 20 seconds
Calf raises: Isometric hold 5 sets 60 seconds each near top of raise, 2 sets regular body weight calf raises. (Done during rest period between pull-up sets)

Interestingly, when doing my pull-up pyramid my biceps gave out first. Normally, my biceps and my back quit about the same time. In fact, this time my back felt like it could do more reps but my biceps were simply done.

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Banana Protein Shake, Flax oil, Multivitamin, ECA, Zyrtec, Water,
low sodium V8 juice
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Water,
3 - Grapes and Protein Shake
6 - Chicken Breast, Pasta, Water, Veggies
9 - Veggies, Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

Last note, I weighed in today at just under 176, meaning that I've lost about three pounds in the last two weeks. Normally, I'd lose about a pound a week so, looks like the ECA stack increased my weight loss by 33ish% or an extra pound every two weeks. Not exactly, something to write home about but I'll take it.

Today is Rest Day

2009-08-30T08:03:00.002-06:00

Today is rest day meaning that I don't workout whatsoever. I'm just going to sit here and recover.

I took a free night last night and ate off the plan so today I'm back on all day. If you really want to know I did end up getting fish and chips and they were awesome. There is this fish and chip place in a strip mall near me and they have the quality stuff, hand cut and breaded, not the straight out of bag kind. They also serve deep fried Twinkies, which are spectacular, but by the grace of the fitness gods I was able to resist the temptation to get on.

My resistance to Twinkies bliss, turned out to be a bit futile because later last night some neighbors and I went out to get gelato. It was awesome.

Today's Workout and Eating - August 29, 2009

2009-08-29T15:34:00.003-06:00

I had a great run this morning and even tried a few small hills. I'm feeling stronger every workout and I feel back to my fit self.

----- The following portion of the post is a discussion of ketones, ketogenesis, and ketosis; so if the biologically technical side of fitness bores you, just skip to the end to see my workout and eating schedule for today. -----

Interestingly enough, for the past couple of days my urine has started to have a strong smell kind of like when you eat cabbage or asparagus but distinct from those smells. I did some research and it looks like the smell is the result of excess ketones in my urine.

When your body decides it needs to break fat down to use as energy it will take some fat and send it to your liver where it is turned into ketones. This process is called ketogenesis, literally "the making of ketones." The ketones are released into your bloodstream and picked up by cells in the body that burn them for energy. This is a pretty normal process in the body and happens whenever you burn fat for fuel.

If you cut out almost all carbohydrates from your diet, your body will enter into a state of ketosis, in which the primary source of energy for the body becomes these ketones derived from stored and consumed fat. In ketosis, the body drops its preference for glucose as an energy source and retools all of its cells to burn ketones as their primary fuel.

Your brain cells hate using ketones for energy and normally run exclusively on glucose, so the retooling process can cause headaches, fatigue, slow thinking, and impairment until the brain cells finally retool in order to avoid death. Even after retooling brain function will be slower than if it was burning glucose for fuel.

Ketosis is the goal of low-carb diets and those diets main mechanism for fat and weight loss. Not exactly my idea of healthy fat loss. You are losing fat not because you are burning more energy and need to supplement a balanced diet but because that's all you have to burn. Ketosis, has some serious drawbacks, such as vitamin loss, bad breath, liver and kidney strain, increased cholestrol in some people, high levels of triglycerides in the blood, as well as the already mentioned effects on your brain.

The symptoms of ketosis are strong smelling urine, copper or metallic taste in the back of the mouth, dry mouth, thirst, fatigue, headache, bad breath, and frequent urination, among others.

Many bodybuilders intentionally go into ketosis during their cutting phase because while in ketosis the body stops trying to break down muscle proteins into amino acids that it can then convert into glucose for energy. Because bodybuilders need to spare all of the muscle mass they can while losing fat, ketosis seems like the best option for them.

I've hung out with a few bodybuilders during their ketosis cutting phases. Not pretty. Until their brains adapt to burning ketones (which can take days) they are living in a fog and are pretty freakin' Grumpy (with a capital g). Further, they stink. Badly. I had one friend who actually had to calculate the amount of carbs in Altoids because he was taking so many to cover his bad breath that he was worried he'd leave ketosis.

I'm near 100% positive, that I haven't reached ketosis. I'm eating more than enough carbs to keep my body running on glucose primarily. I haven't had the brain fog and, other than the strong smelling urine, I don't have any of the other symptoms of ketosis.

However, I think because I'm using the ECA stack my body is needing to dip heavily into its fat reserves to provide me with enough energy to make it to the next meal. Hence, the excess amount of ketones in my urine and the resulting strong smell. I'm literally peeing out excess fat.

Actually, this is exactly what I want my body to be doing, burning fat for fuel to supplement my dietary intake.

I'm going to make sure I'm eating enough carbs at each meal and keep on drinking a ridiculously large amount of water (currently I'm at something like a gallon and a half a day or more) over the next week. By then, I'll have stopped taking the C and A in the ECA stack and I'll likely not need the E for my allergies anymore.

--------- Workout ---------

Cardio: Last day of week 3 on the C25k program

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake and a Banana, Zyrtec, Multivitamin, ECA, Water
12 - Slice of Pizza, Water (didn't plan well and this was the closest to a balanced meal I could get my hands on)
3 - Chicken Breast, Peanut Butter, Popcorn, Water, ECA
6 - Free Meal (haven't decided what I want yet but I'm thinking fish and chips)
9 - Cottage Cheese, Salsa, Banana, and some water

Today's Workout and Eating - August 28, 2009

2009-08-28T09:55:00.002-06:00

It's probably a stupid thing to admit but I miss the swing set for doing my pull-ups. Yes, I have an emotional attachment to an inanimate object. It's hard not to when you spent time out in the freezing cold scraping ice off of the thing so that you could do your pull-ups. Aside from the good times we had together, the bar is just at the right height for me to get my feet off of the ground.

Anyway, I decided to go over to the playground today to do my pull-ups. Now that we are near the end of summer the playground has lost most of its magic for moms and the kidlettes. I was pretty much alone out there and was able to do my pull-ups and chins on my favorite piece of metal. It was awesome. The pump I get from doing my pull-ups out there is better than anywhere else. I honestly can't wait until winter.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 x 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets (5, 3, 2)
Chins: 3 sets (3, 2, 2)

I was going to take a walk but with the ECA running through my system my heart was pumping hard just walking around. I decided to skip the walk just in case.

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Water, Flax seed Oil, Zyrtec, ECA, Multivitamin, Banana
12 - Oatmeal, Water, Milk, V8
3 - Protein Shake, Apple
6 - Chicken and Pasta, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

Today's Worktout and Eating - August 27, 2009

2009-08-27T09:50:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was shoulder and leg day, so I decided to do some assisted headstand style push-ups. I knelt on a chair and bent over to the ground. From that position I pushed myself up. I think the lift is effective because today, I'm feeling it. My shoulders are killing me.

Last night some neighbors came over and we ended up hanging out until about 11:00. No big deal as I normally don't go to bed until midnight or later. However, at 11 I was done and ready for bed. I didn't sleep well all night. I don't know if it was too much social stimulation right before bed or what but I tossed and turned all night.

When morning finally came it was a battle to get going. I felt like I'd been hit by a linebacker and could barely function because I was so tired. Despite feeling horrible, I went out and ran. Its always amazing to me how a little exercise can fix what ails you.

--------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 3 C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Water, Vitamins, ECA, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, PB
3 - Protein Shake, Banana, Water, V8 juice, ECA
6 - Pasta and Chicken, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - August 25, 2009

2009-08-25T10:16:00.002-06:00

I weighed myself this morning. The number on the scale read 177 lbs. I feel like 190 lbs when I run or try to do pull-ups. I'm okay with it though. I've lost a pound this past week which means that in another nine weeks I will be around 168, I'm not going to complain about that.

I expect my progress this time around will be slower because I used my roommates weights last time and he moved out and our in home gym with him. I'm not going to be able to gain strength and ergo muscle as fast this time around without lifting. Sunday I'm going to take some progress photos. It's time to face reality and fess up to losing ground.

Anyway, I had a great run this morning and so I think I'm going to move up to week 4 this next workout.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 3 C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Water, Zyrtec, ECA, Multivitamin, Banana
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, V8, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water, Grapes
6 - ?
9 - Cottage Cheese and Fruit

Today's Workout and Eating - August 24, 2009

2009-08-24T09:30:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, the Cardio Master and I sat down to figure out his BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Your BMR is a rough approximation of how many calories you need to consume in order to maintain your current level of activity without either gaining fat or losing fat. Knowing your BMR helps you calculate roughly how many calories you are going to need to consume per meal.

Once you know the amount of calories you need to consume, the next step is to calculate how many of those calories need to come from fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The average person needs to consume about 3/4 of a gram of protein per pound of lean muscle to maintain it. An athelete needs to consume one gram or more for maintainance. If you are trying to build more muscle something north of one gram is recommended. Why we are using grams with pounds is one of those mysteries of nutrition. I mean, it would make more sense to use ounces with pounds, and grams with kilos but I don't make the rules.

A person also needs to consume at a minimum 40 grams of fat a day, some of which must (that's right MUST) be saturated fat. Anything less than this will harm the bodies ability to fight disease, recover from injury, and function. After knowing your protein and fat needs the rest of your calories need to come from carbs.

Although this process has the appearance of being scientifically tidy don't be fooled. The numbers you generate in this process are meant to serve only as a rough generalization of what you should consume. You should use the numbers only as a rule of thumb check to see if you are getting enough nutrition through your food choices.

After, running through the process with the Cardio Master, I quickly realized that I wasn't getting nearly the amount of carbohydrates I should in my mid meals. I need to add some fruit back into the mix.

As a side note, if you follow Bill Phillip's portion sizes in Body-for-life or Eating-for-life, you will come pretty close to the nurtritional requirements you established using the BMR. Turns out Bill knew what he was talking about.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 sets (10, 10, 9)
Tricep Push-ups: 3 sets (10, 10, 6)
Pull-ups:
Chins:

---------- Eating -----------

9 - Protein Shake (Chocolate Protein Powder, Milk), half an Apple, V8, Multivitamin, Water, Zyrtec, ECA stack
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Flax Oil, Fruit, Water, ECA Stack
6 - Chicken Breast, Veggies, and Potatoes, Water
9 - Popcorn, Cottage Cheese, Water

Fun New Toy

2009-08-23T13:02:00.006-06:00

About a month ago, I was walking through either Target or Walmart looking for a air popcorn popper when I ran across possibly the best fitness invention yet. Okay, that's probably being a little to generous, but it has helped my fitness efforts greatly. It's a chocolate milk mixer. The mixer has a cup with a battery powered motor on the bottom.

On the box it said the mixer could also mix powders and the thing was only ten dollars so I though that I'd try it out. I brought it home washed it and then poured in water, powdered milk, and protein powder. You push the little red button and the stirring motor comes whirling to life. After about 20 seconds I had the best mixed shake I'd ever had. The mixer works far better than my stick blender! Amazing.

I instantly wanted another one for taking to the office or on trips. I could even mix shakes on road trips as long as I had a bottle of water, protein powder, and powdered milk. Unfortunately, I went all over the city looking for the Air Popper and I couldn't remember which store carried the modern marvel mixer. I looked everywhere but couldn't find another one. Sad.

If you see one of these, buy it, and tell me where you got it so I can get another.

UPDATE:

The Cardio Master, bless his fit little heart, found these on line at the Bed, Bath, & Beyond website. I just ordered a second one. Thanks Cardio Master!

Today's Workout and Eating - August 21, 2009

2009-08-22T09:46:00.002-06:00

I had a great run this morning, it was neither too hot nor too cold and I felt great. I'm already starting to have the fit feeling again. Well, at least until I apply the mirror test.

Yesterday, I was ravenously hungry. I just couldn't figure out why I was so hungry. Sure the ECA stack had ramped up my metabolism but this was beyond a bump up in metabolism. I had cravings to shove what ever I could get my hands on into my mouth. I just couldn't figure it out. Besides craving anything in sight, my blood sugar had been all over the place. I was eating enough fiber to regulate my blood sugar, but this was weird. I just couldn't figure it out.

Later in the day, I was walking down an aisle at the grocery store and I glanced over to see a pack of wasabi almonds. Instantly, it occurred to me that I hadn't had more than maybe 20 grams of fat a day for the past week. Okay 20 would be generous, I'd averaged maybe 10 grams. My body was in emergency, "get some fat so we can function" mode.

I bought a small package of wasabi soy almonds and immediately after eating the first handful my cravings disappeared. After eating the entire bag, I was feeling normal again.

The human body requires at least 40 grams of fat a day to function. It needs the fat to regulate blood sugar, rebuilt cell walls, run your lymphatic system (immune system highway), and other important functions. For someone my height and weight, I probably need closer to 50 grams.

I broke the rules. Eating low fat meals is okay, but no fat is dangerous. I bought a jar of peanut butter and have reminded myself to use the flax seed oil in a protein shake at least once per day.

----------- Workout -----------

Cardio: Last run on week 2 of C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Multivitamin, V8, Water, Zyrtec, ECA stack
12 - Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water, Flax oil
6 - Chicken Breast, Mash Potatoes, Veggies, Water
9 - Protein Shake, Water

Guy with the Gut vs. His BBQ

2009-08-21T14:31:00.003-06:00

Today, I finally decided I had to clean my barbecue. You have to understand that this was not just a "hey, I think I'll go clean the grill rack" kind of cleaning. Oh no, this was a battle of epic proportions pitting the determination of a man on a mission against the unyielding remnants over ten years of grilling. That's right over ten years worth of carcinogenic ash and incinerated animal fat.

At the beginning of the summer, I inherited the grill from my brother who had just purchased a beautiful stainless steel altar of meat grilling worship. My hand-me-down grill was already beyond old when my brother got it as a hand-me-down from his inlaws. I think the inlaws got it from George Washington who---few people know this---actually chopped down the cherry tree because the cherry wood is awesome for smoking brisket. I don't think any part of the grill has ever been cleaned except the grill rack.

Yesterday, I grilled a bag of chicken breasts on my American heirloom grill and the heat was so uneven that something had to be done and someone had to do it. Well, it's my grill and I don't have children so that someone was going to have to be me.

After my workout this morning, I gathered all of my supplies or implements of war as I like to think of them: oven cleaner, a can of compressed air, paper towels, a rag, a bucket of hot soapy water, special grill cleaning spray with "the power of orange" (that's what it says on the bottle), vinyl gloves, a mechanics shop of tools, and some courage.

Heavily armed and feeling dangerous, outside I went to face my enemy. I opened the lid of the ancient cooking machine and assessed the situation. Looking down from through the grill I could only see what looked like a solid sheet of shiny black and gray, somewhere below was the burner element. I took off the grilling rack and proceeded with double gloved hands to crack the sheet and remove the ceramic briquettes.

The briquettes must date back to the time of Egypt because they almost crumbled at the slightest touch. Where George Washington got Egyptian briquettes is beyond me but I understand he was a Free Mason. (Conspiracy theorists start your engines!) After removing the briquette holding grate which is entirely rusted, (I'm not replacing it, it's not worth it) I noticed a full two inches of ash and incinerated debris.

No problem, I thought. Yep, problem, said the grill. That wasn't just ash like from a campfire, it was a gooey, stick grease pit. Imagine the inside of your oven times ten years.

It took me three hours to remove the majority of the tar like substance. I felt like I was on Dirty Jobs in the episode where Mike spends hours removing tar from a pit at the La Brea Tar Pits.

After nearly sinking into the tar like a mastodon, I eventually prevailed and could finally contemplate removing the burner (which I discovered is rusted but I'm not replacing it). I removed the burned with a little help from some tools and swear words and cleaned it out.

It took me another hour to finish cleaning the bottom of the BBQ under the burner. I didn't get it sparkling clean; but after four hours, I'd lost any semblance of pride and just wanted the project to be done with.

Finally, I put my heirloom meat altar back together and cleaned up the battle field.

In the end, I used all of the oven cleaner to little effect, an entire roll of paper towels, 80% of my orange grill cleaner, three buckets of environmentally unsound soapy water, one can of compressed air, a rag, 8 vinyl gloves, and about a gallon and a half of sweat.

Really, I don't know who won the battle. The grill is clean enough to have friends over and not be embarrassed and its far better than when I got it, but I wasn't able to get off all of the baked on burger enamel. I'm going to say the score was something like BBQ 71, Guy with the Gut 80. A win but not a dominating victory by any means.

I still have to go to Wal-mart to buy some lava rocks and a new grease catcher, but mentally I'm already done with this project.

The saddest part is that I cooked a whole bag of chicken yesterday, so I won't even be using the grill for at least two weeks. Sigh.

I hope cleaning the beast doesn't give me cancer.

Today's Workout and Eating - August 20, 2009

2009-08-21T09:10:00.002-06:00

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 sets of 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 sets of 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets (4, 3, ) with 20 second hangs at the end
Chins: 3 sets of 3

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Protein Shake, V8, Water, Multivitamin, Zyrtec and Decongestant
12 - Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water, Decongestant, Veggies
6 - Chicken Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies, Water
9 - Protein Shake, Water

A Tribute to a Watch

2009-08-21T09:03:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week, the watch that I use during my workouts, camping trips, and miscellaneous labor intensive tasks batteries finally failed. I purchase my rubber and plastic Armitron watch ten years ago for a whopping $10 at K-mart and didn't expect it to last a summer let alone ten years.

Yesterday, I took my trusty sidekick to Wal-mart to have the battery replace. After five dollars and five minutes my watch is as good as the day I bought it.

So here's to near free watches, gloriously wearing "Made in China" emblazoned across the cheapest materials available. May they always exceed our expectations.

Today's Workout and Eating - August 20, 2009

2009-08-20T09:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was a horrible day for fitness. My roommate temporarily lost his car keys and so I took him into work. On my way back from downtown, I stopped against my better judgment at McDonald's and bought breakfast. Bad, bad idea. I didn't get the only thing on McD's menu that was on the plan but something way, way bad for me. The rest of the day I was off. To make matters worse, allergy season is in high gear and so I spent most of the day yesterday sleeping off my symptoms. Antihistamines are largely useless for me now.

Anywho, yesterday is in the past and today is a new leg on the fitness journey. I just got back from a great run. I'm going to make today a great day.

My allergies have been bad enough over the past few days that I've decided to start taking an over the counter bronchial dilator. It has ephedrine hcl in it and that's the main ingredient in the ECA stack. So I've decided to add the C and the A to it. Might as well get some thermogenic benefit out of feeling horrible. Don't worry though I only take half doses of what you would take on an ECA stack. My results shouldn't be spectacular but neither should the risk of side effects.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 2 C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Vanilla Protein Shake, V8, Multivitamin, Water
12 - Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein shake
6 - Chicken Breast, Veggies, Mashed Potatoes
9 - Protein Shake

Today's Workout and Eating - August 18, 2009

2009-08-18T08:40:00.002-06:00

I started back at week two on the C25k run schedule today but I'm not discouraged. It just felt nice to get out and run again. The only downside is that I'll have to go through week three's music again. Not my favorite but I can deal.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: C25k week 2

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Multivitamins, Water
12 - Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water
6 - Pasta!!! (I like pasta, especially garlic pasta)
9 - Protein Shake, Popcorn

Today's Workout and Eating - August 17, 2009

2009-08-17T13:00:00.002-06:00

I got a late start on my workout and eating today because I got going on other projects first. For me, it's always a mistake to get into a project before I get my workout in because of the momentum shift needed to work out. If I get my workout done in the morning first thing, there isn't anything I can't do in a day. However, if I miss that workout, I will be in trouble for the rest of the day with my energy levels and momentum.

---------- Workout -----------

Push-ups: 3 sets of 10 deep push-ups
Pull-ups: 3 sets of 3

I missed my chins and triceps push-ups today so I'll get them in tomorrow

---------- Eating ----------

Today is going to be a little off on the eating front because its 1 pm and I've forgotten to eat all day. It happens when you get busy. ; )

Multi-Day Update - Aug 12, 2009

2009-08-12T13:10:00.002-06:00

Over the past few days, I've been busy helping family move mainly by watching kids. Nevertheless, I've found time to work out each morning, nothing major just some long walks. It feels great to get out and work out again.

If you ever want to know how much fat you've gained just start working out again. The fat will start to stand off your body in high relief and you will look awful, but on the plus side you will also feel pretty good.

Today's Workout and Eating - August 10, 2009

2009-08-10T09:23:00.002-06:00

Well I've let this summer weight gain get a little out of control as I hit 178 on the scale yesterday. The shock of seeing the 14 lbs weight gain about knocked me over and gave me more than enough motivation to get my act together again.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 sets (10, 10, 6)
Triceps Push-ups: 3 sets (10, 10, 6)
Pull-ups: 3 sets of 2
Chins: 3 sets of 2

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Vitamin, Zyrtec
12 - Pasta and Meat Sauce, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water, Veggie
6 - ?
9 - Popcorn and Cottage Cheese

Today's Workout and Eating - July 7, 2009

2009-07-07T09:37:00.002-06:00

I wen to the park across the street to run/walk this morning and the park was full of high school runners. One of the big area high school's was apparently holding a cross country practice. The runners were running wind sprints, hills, doing push-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks, and other fun stuff. It was fun to watch. I remember way back when I was in ridiculous shape like that. Ah, youth. Anyway, watching those kids try and kill themselves in the name of fitness reminded me that this is all supposed to be fun and as the Running Guru always says: "It's not fun unless you work hard."

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Run/Walk 40 minutes

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Two Large Apricots, Protein Shake with Water, Zyrtec, Water, Multivitamin
12 - Oatmeal
3 - Protein Shake with Milk, Cucumber Slices
6 - 4 oz Steak, Corn, Broccoli/Cauliflower
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

The Miracle of the Human Body - July, 6, 2009

2009-07-06T09:45:00.002-06:00

Over the past two months, I've watched my strength, endurance, agility, and weight slip back out of shape. Each day I promised to get back on the plan and made some half hearted efforts to eat better. I'm back near square one now and was only able to do three pull ups in each set this morning. I've lost so much strength and muscular endurance its amazing or horrifying depending on when I notice. After my workout, amazing; at the pool, horrifying.

The human body truly is a miracle. It has a plan and sticks to it everyday all day without rest. The plan is very simple: survival. Survival means having enough energy resources to do what it needs to keep living for as long as possible. Logically then, the body will shed any unneeded muscle to slow the metabolism thus lowering its daily caloric requirements. Further, our bodies will grab on to every available calorie and store it for as long as possible.

Although I've lost ground in my goal achievements, I'm still grateful for the body I have. It works perfectly. It didn't think I needed that extra strength and endurance and so stopped "wasting" resources maintaining them. It saw that I had a caloric surplus and stored as much of it away for a rainy day as possible. Awesome.

In the end, our role as conscious beings is to recognize our bodies programming and diligent nature and then act accordingly. Because our bodies will only keep what is needed, we have to tell it everyday what it needs to keep around. We do this through exercise. Strength training tells our body to keep a certain quantity of muscle and endurance training tells our body how efficient it needs to keep the entire system. Both types of exercise even signal to our bodies how sharp they need to keep our minds.

So if you have cloudy thoughts, maybe your body's just being following the program. Tell it to sharpen up by getting out there and exercising.

Is losing ground watching our goals slip further away depressing. Sure. But if it teaches us anything, it should be that we have to be as diligent as our bodies.

---------- Workout ---------

Push-ups: 3 x 8
Pull-ups: 3 x 3

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Zyrtec, Multivitamin
12 - Chicken Bowl, Water
3 - Protein Shake
6 - Steak, Potato, Veggies
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn, Veggies

Today's Workout and Eating - June 16, 2009

2009-06-16T12:48:00.002-06:00

I set off for a run this morning and ended up walking for about an hour and a half. I took a pedometer that I borrowed from my dad and the final step total turned out to be 7950. So I'm guessing that I walked about two and half miles. Not that far and not that fast it seems.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: 90 minute brisk walk

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, V8, Water, Multivitamin, Zyrtec
12 - Baked potato, small chili, side salad w light dressing, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Water
6 - Pasta and meat sauce
9 - Protein Shake, Popcorn

Back at it - June 15, 2009

2009-06-15T09:24:00.002-06:00

I'm back on the plan.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 x 10
Tricep Push-ups: 3 x10
Pull-usps: 3 x 5
Chins: 3 x 3
Cardio: 45 minute brisk walk

---------- Eating ---------

9 - Protein Shake, V8 (low sodium), Vitamin, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Water
3 - Protein shake, pb, Water, veggies
6 - Pasta and meat sauce
9 - Protein shake, popcorn

Today's Workout and Eating - May 27, 2009

2009-05-27T09:32:00.002-06:00

Looking back over the past couple of months, I can't believe how hard it has been to be "on the plan." Summer is normally a time of increased freedom and motivation with the added daylight. But for various reasons Summer is a much harder season to keep up working out and eating right. You have barbecues, family gatherings, vacations, weekend outings, camping, bon fires, etc. all of which are potential opportunities to miss a workout or eat well beyond what is good for you.

I've gained almost ten pounds in the past month---all of it fat. Crazy how it sneaks up on you. Even so, I'm not going to let myself be discouraged. I'm just going to start from where I am and continue down the path.

---------- Workout ----------

Body weight Squats: 3 x 10
Calf Raises: 3 x 20
Cardio: 30 minute brisk walk

---------- Eating ----------

7:45 - Protein Shake, Zyrtec, Water, Vitamin
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Water
3 - Protein Shake and Veggies
6 - Pasta and Meat Sauce
9 - Cottage Cheese and Veggies

Today's Workout and Eating - May 18, 2009

2009-05-18T09:19:00.002-06:00

I decided to do something new today by supersetting my push-ups and pull-ups. A superset is were you perform one lift and then perform a lift that works the opposing set of muscles immediately after without a rest in between. In this case, I'm working my chest and then immediately working my back. You usually can't get as many reps in but the workout is more intense. It's a good change of pace.

---------- Workout ----------

Pull-ups: 3 sets supersetted with push-ups (6, 4, 4)
Push-ups: 3 sets of 10
Chins: 3 sets (6, 3, 3)
Triceps Push-ups: 3 sets of 10

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake, Vitamin, Zyrtec
12 - Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Apple, Veggies
6 - Pasta with Clam Sauce, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese with Baked Apple, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - May 14, 2009

2009-05-14T14:43:00.003-06:00

I had a great run this morning along the canal. I was able to do the entire workout without feeling overly winded. By the end of next week I will be able to run 20 minutes non-stop. No small feat for me.

I've also gained about 2 or 3 pounds of body fat and my gut is back. It's hard to be here at my parents house because they have every possible food available and I take advantage of the opportunity. I know, I know its all about me and my self control not what is available.

Anywho, I'm going to have to pull out some the counter measures I haven't used in a while. Mainly, I'm going to eat a vegetable at the beginning of each meal that way I avoid filling up on the stuff that doesn't help me out.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Day 1 Week 5 C25k

---------- Eating ----------

Well and poorly all at the same time.

Today's Workout and Eating - May 12, 2009

2009-05-12T11:17:00.002-06:00

I ran today by the creek near my parents house. It's really a canal they call a creek but I'll take it. Not much to report other than that my left knee started to hurt. I'm not going to worry about it though unless it keeps hurting over the next few weeks.

----------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 4 C25k
Next workout out I'm moving up to week 5

----------- Eating ------------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake
12 - ?
3 - Fruit, Veggie, Protein shake
6 - ?
9 - Cottage Cheese, Veggies

Today's Workout and Eating - May 11, 2009

2009-05-11T11:46:00.002-06:00

I'm back. Did you miss me? I knew you did and I missed you too.

I'm constantly amazed at the power of routines. If you develop good routines they build momentum in your life and help you reach your goals. If, on the other hand, you develop mediocre or bad routines you can miss you goals entirely.

Over the past two months I've let my routines slide. Instead of beginning each day with an accomplishment (working out) I just tried to fit it in. Granted I've been out of town a ridiculous amount the last two months but still.

I have an uncle who, no matter were he is on the planet, always follows his exercise routine. He says it keeps him centered and productive, regardless of the situation or environment in which he finds himself.

Routines are powerful. They shape our days and time and ultimately determine our success levels. I'm rebuilding my routines this week; It'll be worth it.

---------- Workout -----------

Push-ups: 3 x 10
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets (7, 4, 3)
Chins: 3 sets (5, 4, 3)
Cardio: 45 minute brisk walk

I've learned over the past two months that my body does not hold onto strength and muscle well. Some people can miss a few workouts and their bodies haven't lost much. Mine, gets ride of muscle as fast as it can. I just have to focus on the process and not what I've lost and I'll be fine. It the process of fitness that matters not the numbers.

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Two Eggs, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Zyrtec, Water
12 - Tuna Sandwich
3 - Protein Shake
6 - ?
9 - Protein Crepes

I'm at my parents house this week waiting for my car to be delivered so I'm kind of at the mercy of what they have on hand.

Today's Worktout and Eating - April 28, 2009

2009-04-28T12:26:00.002-06:00

Funny that when you get of the plan for too long you lose all ability to motivate yourself to do things. Life and workouts then become just one big battle.

Anyway, I'm still toying with the idea of doing pull-ups and push-ups on a daily basis. I'll make a decision today.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 sets (13, 13, 10)
Pull-ups: 3 sets (7, 5, 4)
Triceps Push-ups: 3 sets (15, 15, 15)
Chins: 3 sets (5, 5, 4)
I did the triceps push-ups and chins as super sets so I got a few less reps in on the chins but a much more intense workout
Cardio: Walk up to the Grocery Store (still don't have a new car yet)

--------- Eating ----------

9 - Two fried eggs over easy and a banana, Water, Vitamins, Zyrtec
1 - Protein Shake, Veggies
3 - Protein Shake, Water
6 - Sheppard's Pie, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - April 24, 2009

2009-04-24T10:17:00.002-06:00

I can do pull-ups again! I broke down and bought a pull-ups bar at Sports Authority. I got the kid that doesn't require nails and has wide grip functionality. It holds sturdily in the doorway and easily supports my weight without damaging the doorway. Nice.

My only complaints are that you can't get those last few inches on your chins or your pull-ups because your shoulders hit the wide grip support bars and that the design makes it unsafe to kip. Not bad, just annoying. Without kipping I won't be able to push as hard on that last pull-up.

Today I got to try out the bar for it's first full workout and it worked great. I knew I'd lost some strength but it doesn't seem to be that bad especially sense without kipping I was still able to do seven pull-ups and six chins in my first sets. I think with kipping I would have been able to get at least nine pull-ups and maybe seven chins. So all in all not a bad return to my favorite lift on the planet.

Now that I have a way to do pull-ups in the apartment, I'm thinking about expanding my pull-up routine to include a set to failure of pull-ups on my run days or maybe I'll just throw in negatives on those days. I haven't decided yet, but I'm excited about the possibilities. I'm thinking a set of pull-ups and one of push-ups to failure on run days would really get my strength up.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep Push-ups: 3 x 13
Triceps Push-ups: 3 x 10
Pull-ups: 3 sets (7, 5, 4) wider grip than normal and not able to go all the way to the top because of the bar limitations
Chins: 3 sets (6, 5, 5) can't get all the way up to where the bar touches my chest because shoulder hit part of the bar.
Wide Grip Pull-ups: 1 x 3. I don't know about these yet they seem to put some weird stress on your shoulders. I think they can be good finishing lifts or good for negatives but I'm not going to worry about it to much.

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Egg Sandwich: two eggs, a little left over cheese, on a hamburger bun, and Water, Zyrtec, and a Multivitamin. I also snuck a handful of grapes.
12 - Oatmeal with milk, Water
3 - Vanilla Protein Shake with Milk, Veggies
6 - On the Plan Burger, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Grapes, Water

Today's Worktout and Eating - April 23, 2009

2009-04-23T11:38:00.002-06:00

Not much to report today I went out to run today but soon realized that I've lost almost all of the cardio conditioning I've built. I think its actually the allergy drugs I'm on. Doesn't really matter as long as I got out there for a cardio workout.

I weighed myself yesterday and came in at 171 lbs. That's four pounds higher than a week ago and 8 pounds higher than my low of 163. Nothing really to worry about just a message that I need to get my butt in gear.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Brisk Walk for 1 hour

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake (Protein Powder and Powdered Milk)
12 - Oatmeal with Milk (1/3 cup oatmeal, 1/3 cup powdered milk), Multivitamin, Water
3 - Protein Shake w/o milk, Grapes, Veggies
6 - On the plan Hamburger, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Grapes, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - April 22, 2009

2009-04-22T12:18:00.002-06:00

I've been OTP for about two and half weeks and only giving a half effort for at least a month and a half. But no more. I'm home and ready to get back on my journey and stop all of this nonsense.

----------- Workout ----------

Body Weight Squats: 3 x 10
Calf Raises: 3 x 10 at 45 lbs dumbbells (90 lbs)
Shoulder Presses: 3 x 10 at 45 lbs dumbbells
Lateral Raises: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs
Shrugs: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs
Standing Alternating Biceps Curls: 3 x 10 at 20 lbs
Overhead Triceps Press: 3 x 10 at 45 lb dumbbell

--------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake, Water
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Vitamin, Water
3 - Vanilla Protein Shake, Water, Veggies
6 - Pasta and Meatsauce, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Veggies

Today’s Workout and Eating – April 15, 2009

2009-04-15T19:56:00.001-06:00

It’s snowing again today. It seems like it only snows when I’m building momentum in my workouts. Isn’t that just the way life is sometimes? Hilarious.

----------- Workout ----------

Body Weight Squats: 3 x 10
Calf Raises: 3 x 10 at 40 lbs dumbbells (80 lbs total)
Dumbbell Presses: 3 x 10 at 40 lbs dumbbells
Lateral Raises: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs dumbbells
Shoulder Shrugs: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs dumbbells
Surgical Tube Rows: 3 x 10 at the band’s resistance

---------- Eating -----------

10 – Oatmeal, Scoop of Protein Powder, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec
12:30 – Protein Shake
3 – Protein Shake, Veggies, Water
6 – Pasta and Meat Sauce, Veggies, Water
9 – Homemade Corn Tortilla, Salsa, Cheese, Cottage Cheese

Today's Workout and Eating - April 13, 2009

2009-04-13T13:43:00.003-06:00

I didn't get up early enough today to get to the pull up bar at the play ground before the little munchkins took over. In fact, I didn't get out to workout until this afternoon. By that time the playground was full of about fifty little rascals. It's amazing how quite and peaceful the winter can be and how crowded spring through fall are. Where do all these people come from?

While doing, my cardio I walked by the pond. The pond has thawed and is up about two feet in depth. On the other side of the pond from me I saw a red fox weaving through the reeds looking for small birds or maybe a duck. Pretty cool to see that with so many people around.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep push-ups: 3 sets of 12
Incline bench press: 3 sets light weights
Triceps push-ups: 3 sets of 12
Cardio: 45 minute Walk

I've decided that now that the weather is nice again I'm going to do cardio every day. I'll still run three times a week but on the non-running days I'm going to go on hikes or walks ofs at least 45 minutes up to a couple of hours. Should be fun.

Update: Its such a nice day that I couldn't resist going out again and doing a little run walking. In all I ran/walked another 30 minutes.

--------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake
12 - Left over cheesy potatoes
3 - Vanilla Protein Shake and some veggies
6 - Pasta and Meat Sauce
9 - Cottage Cheese and Popcorn

Things I Learned at a Bodybuilding Competition

2009-04-12T10:04:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I rooted for a good friend of mine in a bodybuilding competition. He did well, taking fourth out of twelve competitors in his weight class. He looked amazing and had paid the price to get to around 3% body fat. I'm really proud of him and his achievement.

It was interesting to see the different attitudes the various competitors and audience members had toward the competition. Some thought it was ridiculous, others fun, still others were there to be seen and admired.

My friend was one of the people doing it for fun, similar to the way some people set a goal to run a marathon or two during their lifetime. To him, bodybuilding competitions are a fun experience and a nice way to add a little variety on the way to his fitness goals. It's pretty cool to be able to say that you've cut down to 3% or that you've completed a marathon or two.

Competitions and races are great ways to cement a fitness achievement, kind of like putting up a monument that says: "Hey, I reached my goal!" Achievement monuments are great motivators for the future, because you can always look back and say "I did that, so what's stopping me now?"

Interestingly, other competitors and audience members were clearly all about the image and not the fitness achievement. These people were far more interested in how they looked and what others thought of their appearance than any real consideration of fitness. Surprisingly, many I've spoke with consider fitness to be inseparable from looks or appearance. In their minds, fitness is appearance not function.

To me fitness, is about your ability to perform a wide variety of physical activities and encompasses cardiovascular health, endurance, strength, and other physical markers like body fat and body competition. If you are fit, a good physical appearance usually follows, but not always. However, a good physical appearance doesn't necessarily translate into good physical health. A six pack is only a weak indication of fitness. Many of the competitors last night probably couldn't complete a 5k, yet were shredded.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying being aware of your appearance and seeking to put your best foot forward is wrong are even undesirable. I think minding your appearance is necessary in creating many of the outcomes you desire in life. But, if your appearance becomes a dominant focus of your identity then there is a problem. You've lost focus on what really matters, in this case physical fitness, not physical appearance.

Get fit, then work on your appearance. You can have your cake and eat it too.

Today's Workout and Eating - April 10, 2009

2009-04-10T09:47:00.002-06:00

I was finally able to put my finger on why I've struggled to work out lately--I sick of being cold. It's that simple. I'm done with the whole get bundled up and go out and be cold for the first 15-20 minutes out there. Spring has sapped my resolve. Time to just gut it up and get out there. Geez, I'm a wuss.

---------- Workout -----------

Push-ups: 3 x 12
Triceps push-ups: 3 x 10
Rows: 3 x 10
Dips: 3 x 10

--------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies
6 - Pasta and Meat Sauce, Veggies
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

Progress Report - April 9, 2009

2009-04-09T21:09:00.002-06:00

Today the Cardio Master and I went and had our body fat percentages tested at the University of Utah using their bod-pod system. It works by taking your weight and height and then measuring your bodies air displacement at certain air pressures. The process is supposed to be as accurate as hydrostatic testing.

Basically, you get down to a speedo or lycra biking shorts, sit in the pod, and weight. The test itself takes about a minute. They run the test two or three times and average the results. It's that fast and easy and only cost twenty-five dollars.

Here's my results:

Height: 74 inches (6' 2")
Weight: 167 pounds
Body Fat Percent: 13.8 %
Body Fat Weight: 23.1 lbs.
Lean Body Mass Percent: 86.2 %
Lean Body Weight: 143.9

So there you have it, I'm sitting at about 14% body fat. Not too bad. 14% is the cut off point between the lean and very lean categories. I'm trying to resist the temptation to start setting goals about getting my body fat percentage down. Temptation, temptation, temptation.

When I achieve all of my goals I will get it tested again just for fun. If your curious about how much body fat you have, I'm sure your local college or university may have the same kind of test available.

Down Time

2009-04-09T21:01:00.002-06:00

It happens to us all. We hit the wall of malaise. For some reason or another we just loose our mojo and stop working out and following the plan. Having been on the fitness band wagon for quite some time now, I realize that it's just part of the process. The trick is to get to the other side of the apathy and let down as fast as possible.

Really the reason for falling off the plan doesn't matter much. It can be a bad break-up, a new relationship, a death, injury, stress from work, change in the season, or losing site of our goals or perspective. Most of the time its a combination of all of the above. Whatever the cause, the important part is to get back on the plan even if you don't feel like it.

As the Running Guru always told me growing up: "Showing up is the most important part." He figures that if you can win the battle of just showing up to the gym, the park, the trail, whatever, you're more than 80% there. Once there, even if you give a half effort, you are on your way to getting back into it. A little momentum is far better than no momentum.

In that vein, its just a matter of doing something tomorrow. I'm planning on lifting tomorrow and then going on a long walk to the grocery store. It's going to be an easy workout, but I'm focusing on just showing up.

Today's Workout and Eating - April 2, 2009

2009-04-02T09:45:00.003-06:00

Wow, great run today. It took me a while to work up my motivation and push through the "I don't want to go out there its cold" attitude this morning. It was cold unfortunately, and the brisk warm up that I do on run days doesn't help. But let's be honest here, it was only five minutes walking so I need to stop complaining.

Last time, I held back running to make sure that I could make it through the workout without really struggling. Funny thing is, that I find its harder to hold back my stride that actually take my natural pace and stride. Anywho, this run I matched my natural stride more closely and at the end was able to let it out to my normal comfortable and fast pace. It felt great. I haven't been able to run like that since high school.

I feel great, the good kind of tired, and my lungs burn. Great workout

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 4 C25k Program.

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Vanilla Protein Shake, Water
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Water, Vitamin, Zyrtec
3 - Chocolate Protein Shake, Veggies, Water
6 - Last on the Plan Gyro, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - April 1st, 2009

2009-04-01T10:47:00.002-06:00

I woke up this morning after a great night sleep with boundless energy. I feel like I could lift a car and so I decided to take my car to a hill, threw it in neutral, pushed it to the top, and then lowered in back down five time. I was still feeling pretty great after all of that so I went out and ran 10 miles and did some wind sprints at the end. Fun.

Okay, I didn't do any of that. April Fools as if you didn't know already.

Today's real workout and eating:

---------- Workout ----------

Body weight Squats: 3 x 10
Calf raises: 3 x 10 at 70 lbs
Shoulder Press: 3 x 10 at 35 lbs dumbbells
Dips: 3 x 10 at body weight
Lateral Shoulder Raises: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs dumbbells

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Two Eggs over easy and a Banana, Vitamin, Zyrtec, Water
12 - Chocolate Protein Oatmeal, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies, Water
6 - On the Plan Gyro with Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese with cucumber and tomato, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 31, 2009

2009-03-31T13:21:00.002-06:00

It's amazing how fast spring snow can be come and melt. Over the weekend, we got about 10 inches total over a two day period but this morning there is little left and the road and sidewalks are completely clear and dry. Amazing.

I decided just to jump up to week 4 of c25k because at the rate I've been going I may never progress past week 3. Week 4 is definitely harder that week three, but I was able to do it. I'm a little sore but feel great about what I achieved today.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: C25k Week Four - 2 intervals of one 3 minute run, 90 second walk, and 5 minute run, with 5 minute warm-up and cool down

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal and Milk with sugar free maple syrup and cinnamon, Water, Vitamin
3 - Banana Protein Shake, Flax oil, Water
6 - On the plan Gyros (Lean Ground Turkey Meatloaf with Greek Seasoning on flatbread with onions, tomatoes, and cucumber yogurt sauce)
9 - Cottage Cheese and an Apple, Water

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar 30, 2009

2009-03-30T09:37:00.002-06:00

The weather has conspired against me again. It dumped four inches on my area yesterday and I'm not going to be able to get out and do my pull-ups. Regardless, I'm going to get my back exercised one way or another today.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 sets (15, 12, 12)
Triceps push-ups: 4 x 12
Dumbbell rows: 3 x 25 lbs
Surgical Band Rows: 4 x 15

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal and Milk, Vitamin, Water
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies
6 - On the plan Gyro
9 - Cottage Cheese, Popcorn

Getting Back on the Plan

2009-03-29T22:52:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow, I'm back on the plan and ready to go. I nursed my injuries and ate like a pig for a few days and I'm ready to start the journey again.

A little perspective is in order. I expect to have lost quite a bit of strength and stamina. I know my endurance won't be where I want it to be. But I need to remember not to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. The journey is what is important. The act of getting out and doing something for my health and fitness that will eventually lead to achieving my goals.

Misunderstood disappointment and frustration can kill what you've built and prevent a healthy rebound from adversity. Instead, I just need to recognize the disappointment and frustration I will feel for what they are---signals that I value fitness and health and I'm not where I want to be, nothing more. They are a call to action and once the message has been received the signal is no longer needed.

That's all I have to say. I'm going to go to bed and get up tomorrow ready to go. Perspective is everything.

P.S. This is my 151st post!

Getting Back on the Horse and Off My Butt

2009-03-27T11:56:00.002-06:00

I've been lax about working out lately. I haven't taken the same dedication and intensity to my workouts. In fact, I've missed most of my workouts for the last two weeks. I think partly due to the weather and partly due to staying up way to late and not eating like I'm supposed to.

Today, I went out and got my three sets of pull-ups in before the little kiddies got to the swing set. Originally I though that I was going to have to get a pull-up bar to avoid the weather and now I realize I'm going to have to get a bar to avoid the kids. Hilarious.

I think it's time to reacquaint myself with my goal and re-evaluate where I am.

Random Injuries and Loss of Appetite

2009-03-26T13:28:00.002-06:00

I haven't worked out over the last few days for various reasons principally random and lame injuries. I managed to pull a muscle in my back while backpacking last week, sadly while I was trying to get out of my mummy bag. How lame is that? I actually got hurt trying to get out of bed. Kind of reminds me of the time I almost cut off my little toe getting out of bed. But that story will have to wait for another time.

I'm also nursing a really weird injury in my right pec. It feels like someone is cutting me with a knife all the way down the outside edge of my pec when I flex hard or sometimes if I just move my arm. I'm assuming this is another strain. How that happened I have no clue.

Anywho, I decided that I'm no longer putting up with my injuries and I'm going to get back on the plan today. Even if I don't get the full workout in. You just have to start and get going.

---------- Workout ----------

Deep push-ups: 3 sets (15, 13, 12)
Triceps push-ups: 3 sets of 12

Okay probably not the smartest thing to start with if I have a random pec injury but you know what? I don't care. I'm tired of waiting for it to heal.

---------- Eating ---------

11 - Double Protein Shake
2 - Protein Shake
4: 30 - Dinner with my Mom
9 - Vanilla Protein Shake, Crepes with Strawberries (May not get to make crepes as we may have company who likes to mess stuff up in the kitchen)

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 21, 2009

2009-03-21T12:01:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, the weather was amazing and unfortunately every soccer mom took the opportunity to get the kids to the park and playground. I've been using the local swing set as a pull-up bar for the last 5 wintery months and now I'm going to have to get there early to beat the kids. Sad.

Anyway, I went out again today and was able to get my pull-ups in.

---------- Workout ----------

Pull-ups: 3 sets (10, 6, 5)
Chins: 2 sets (7, 5)
Cardio: Week Three C25k

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Chocolate Protein Shake
12 - Rice bowl or Sushi
3 - Protein Shake
6 - Pasta and Meatballs
9 - Cottage Cheese and an Apple

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 19, 2009

2009-03-19T09:57:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we got back from our excursion to Zion National Park. What a great four day vacation. On Sunday we backpacked down from Lee Pass and camped a short distance from Kolob arch in campsite number 10. For the first backpacking trip of the season it was great. The hiking wasn't all that bad and I got to test out some new gear.

Monday we hiked back out, drove to the main canyon, and hiked the Emerald Pools trail. Lucky for us a bike shop in Springdale rents a shower for five bucks and we were able to get cleaned up. We set up camp for free on some BLM land between mile marker 23 and 24. The next day we hiked the Observation point trail and some of the smaller hikes. Wednesday, we packed up and drove home.

All in all, it was a great trip. I learned a lot from the Cardio Master on the trip about gear and backpacking technique. I can't wait to get out to the trails again.

As far as my workout goes today I'm going to just eat on the plan and get my digestive system in order again. Tomorrow will be another lift day and I'll pick up the plan from there.

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Scrambled Eggs with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Bacon, Oatmeal, Vitamin, Water, and a Zyrtec
12 - Protein Shake, Apple
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies
6 - Meatballs, Pasta, Veggies
9 - Protein Shake

Today's Workout and Eating

2009-03-13T10:25:00.002-06:00

My pull-ups have been stagnating over the last two weeks and today I took a little step back. Even so I'm not too worried its just a matter of staying consistent and my body will work it out.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 x 12
Triceps push-ups: 3 x 12
Pull-ups: 3 sets (9.5, 4, 5)
Chins: 3 sets (6, 4, 4)

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal with Milk, Vitamin, Water
3 - Protein Shake, veggies
6 - Speghetti and Turkey Meatballs
9 - Protein Shake, Veggies

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 12, 2009

2009-03-12T13:29:00.002-06:00

Backpacking season is upon us so I decided today to get my gear together and take a little forty-five minute hike around the neighborhood. The pack only weighs 20 lbs so it's not really representative of the 30 pounds I'd be carrying out on the trail but it a great start.

----------- Workout ----------

Cardio: 45 minute street hike with backpack

---------- Eating ----------

10 - Huevos Rancheros with toast
2 - Protein Shake
4 - Early Dinner with Family
7 - Protein Shake
10 - Protein Shake and Fruit

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 11, 2009

2009-03-11T12:41:00.002-06:00

I've added a cool little map feature at the bottom of the sidebar that tells me where ya'll are from. Looks like I have a follower around the Seattle, Washington area and someone checked out the blog from Singapore, Malaysia. Sweet, we've gone international---probably by accident but hey I'll take it.

Anywho, I'm still feeling the effects of the cold I had last week as my run this morning was brutal. I only had a couple of hours of sleep last night due to my breaking rule number one which also made the run harder than it should have been. For those of you who don't know, rule number one is as follows:

The Guy with the Gut and Caffeine Do Not Mix. Ever.

Really, I'm ridiculously sensitive to caffeine and it will interrupt my sleep up to 14 hours after I've had it. I must have a lazy liver or something. Good thing I don't drink or I'd be in some real trouble.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: C25K Week 3 (still)

---------- Eating ----------

10 - Protein Shake, banana
1 - Oatmeal, Water, Vitamin, Homemade sports drink
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies
6 - Dinner with the family
9 - Protein Shake

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 10, 2009

2009-03-10T09:21:00.002-06:00

It snowed some more last night and my favorite running routes are covered with snow. I'm thinking that if I wait a day the snow will have melted down some and running won't be such a hassle. So I'm going to lift today, but if it clears up later I may go run anyway.

--------- Workout ----------

Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 10 at 25 lbs
Triceps Overhead Press: 3 x 10 at 45 lbs
Body Weight Squats: 3 x 12
Calf Raises: 3 x 12 at 15 lbs dumbbells
Overhead Shoulder Press: 3 x 10 at 40 lbs dumbbells
Lateral Raises: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs dumbbells

---------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal, Milk
3 - Protein Shake, Veggies
6 - Pasta and Meatballs, Veggies
9 - Protein Shake

Today's Worktout and Eating - Mar. 9, 2009

2009-03-09T11:08:00.002-06:00

It's snowing again and that makes doing pull-ups harder. The bar stays wet so you have to grip extra hard. The harder you grip the faster you get tired. But I'd rather get fewer pull-ups done than get none done so I really can't complain.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 x 12
Triceps push-ups: 3 x 12
Pull-ups: 3 sets (9, 4, 3)
Chins: 3 sets (5, 4, 4)

---------- Eating ----------

10 - Mocha Protein Shake
12 - Oatmeal, Milk
3 - Protein Shake
6 - Chicken breast, Couscous, Veggies
9 - Protein Shake

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-03-07T15:20:00.003-07:00

Today is my birthday so I won't be working out or even remotely coming close to eating on the plan.

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 6, 2009

2009-03-06T10:56:00.002-07:00

Last night I went to the midnight premiere showing of a movie and so didn't get to sleep until about 3:45 am. I woke up at 8 a mere four hours and change later. Needless to say my workout almost didn't happen this morning, but luckily I spoke with the Running Guru who convinced me to get out there and do it.

---------- Workout ----------

Push-ups: 3 x 12 (I've decided to increase the number of reps)
Triceps push-ups: 3 x 12
Pull-ups: 3 sets (10, 4, 5)
Chins: 3 sets (6, 4, 5)

--------- Eating ----------

9:30 - Mocha Protein Shake with double the Milk
12 - Oatmeal, Milk, Vitamin, Water
3 - Protein Shake
6 - Dinner with the Family for My Birthday at Maddox
9 - Protein Shake

Today's Worktout and Eating - Mar. 5, 2009

2009-03-05T11:17:00.002-07:00

Today was my first run back from my cold. I think the last time I ran was sometime back in February. Yikes. Last night it snowed but not much stuck to the sidewalks and streets. The sun had come out by the time I got out to run and it was absolutely beautiful. Blue sky, bright warm sun, fresh snow: What more could you ask for?

My lungs aren't fully back up to normal yet so I was really sucking wind during the run, but I can't complain. I'm just glad to be back out there again.

---------- Workout ----------

Cardio: Week 3 C25k program

I decided to not step up to week four because I knew that I was going to struggle with week three after the cold.

--------- Eating ----------

9 - Mocha Protein Shake
12 - Leftover Chicken Pesto Pizza from yesterday (I went to lunch with a friend)
3 - Protein Shake, Apple, and some Veggie
6 - BBQ Chicken Breast, Rice, Veggies
9 - Chicken Breast, Apple, and whatever else I feel like eating

Buying New Clothes

2009-03-04T09:33:00.003-07:00

Over the past five months I've lost an incredible 40 - 45 lbs of fat. I can hardly wrap my mind around that number. I've decided to donate about a third of my clothes to charity because they no longer fit. I'm a little torn about it. In the back of my mind, a doubting or maybe just practical voice says to me: "you should keep those clothes in case you get fat again." I've had to remind myself several times that my weight and fitness levels are a choice and that I choose to be fit.

Anywho, this past weekend I went shopping for new jeans and some shirts. I've gone from a 36 x 34 at my biggest to a 32 x 34. My shirt size has also dropped one size from an XL to just a regular L. It's crazy what the power of some perspective and a routine will do for you.

Keep up the good work. We're all rooting for you.

Today's Workout and Eating - Mar. 4, 2009

2009-03-04T09:23:00.002-07:00

I'm feeling much better today. Still sneezing a little and my nose is a bit stuffy but I think its just post cold clean up. Sorry, don't mean to be too graphic. I've decided to just slide back into the old routine instead of trying go all out and play catch up. I know that I do better with a routine over time than an intense emotion driven effort.

I believe there is a lot of power in a routine. Yes, changing things up every once in a while can re-invigorate your mind and motivation, but over the long haul emotion and motivation will not perform as well as a consistent routine. I always liked the quote: "Work the plan, not yourself."

---------- Workout ----------

Body Weight Squats: 3 x 10
Calf raises: 4 x 10
Overhead Presses: 3 x 10 at 35 lbs dumbbells
Lateral Raises: 3 x 10 at 15 lbs dumbbells
Resistance Band Shrugs: 3 x 10
Resistance Band Rows: 3 x 10
Cardio: 20 minute brisk walk

---------- Eating ----------

9 - Vanilla Protein Shake, Water
12 - Oatmeal and Milk, Water, Multivitamin
3 - Chocolate Protein Shake, Apple, Veggies
6 - Chicken, Rice, Veggies, Water
9 - Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Water, Protein Shake